A Tale of Two Elves
by elfpaladin
Summary: A mysterious past, A thirst for revenge, and the quest to find her missing twin. In the cold of Northrend is where Liselitha Sunweaver will find the answers to these and more...Rated M for suggestive themes and to be safe
1. A Few Old Friends

_Author's Note: Ok first off, the disclaimer: I do not own any part of Warcraft or World of Warcraft or the Character's there-in. Nor do I own, Twinky, Azidan, or any other named character in this story outside of Liseiltha, those characters are owned by their respective account holders, I'm just playing with them in my twisted sense of fun._

_**Edit: **This story has changed from when I first began writing it, as many stories often do. As you can see, it is no longer going to be in two separate stories, but one continuous one. Though I do not wish to spoil it for those who are just now coming into this story, let's just say that there are more elements to this story than even I first intended. With that in mind, Please sit back, relax and enjoy the story._

_Thirdly, no flames please, I know that lore-wise it's a bit butchered, and I know that I probably have messed up somewhere in someway. This story has not been beta-ed it is in it's raw form. Constructive criticism is welcomed._

_Anyway onto the show..._

Chapter 1: A Few Old Friends

Liselitha sat on the tip of the snow covered mountain, looking over into Icecrown Citadel. She saw as the numberless Scourge crawl, blundered, and stumbled along doing as their master bid. Below, her Netherwing Drake hunted the small game that was sparse in this ice filled hell. Unbidden memories danced in her vision, while echoes of the past played havoc in her mind. The first sword she forged, followed by the Culling with a different, more powerful weapon. "_I can't leave, Uther, I am under orders from Silvermoon...Though I will probably need to confess my sins afterward._" Another upsweep of the wind blows that memory aside for a more hurtful and sadistic one.

"Unsettling, isn't it?" She looked up to find Tirion Fordring standing over her, Ashbringer in it's sheath. "Very. It is like watching termites getting ready to infest a tree, You can kill one, hell you can kill a hundred of them, but until the leader is killed, they will still infect the tree." Tirion nodded absently and she returned to watching as the masses of undead prepared their walls for a conflict they all knew was coming. "You know, there is a place for you amongst the Argent Crusade, Liselitha. We could use your sword. Any pupil of Uther must be inclined to work for the greater good." Liselitha shook her head. "I would join you and your men, Tirion. But I believe that I am not welcome amongst them, former pupil or not. The Silver Covenent and The Sunreavers have made it quite clear that we are only here for one purpose, the downfall of the Lich King. Afterwards, everything returns to status quo." Tirion shook his head, he knew she spoke the truth. The fact that some could lay down their hatred and distaste for a former enemy did not mean all could. He had seen it in both sides, Varian with his condescending towards even former allies and Garrosh, who was barely reigned in by Thrall. Even within his own ranks were there some discrimination by human officers against former members of the Horde, and vice versa. He studied the tiny Blood Elf, she was smaller in stature than he remembered, a side affect of the fel magic that had been infused to her people. However the plate she wore made up for her lack in height. He could feel the magic that pulsed and coursed through the metal, this was not plate meant for killing, but for healing. "You have changed." She smiled up at him. "I no longer strive to punish those who have betrayed the Light. Instead I use it to heal those that would work towards the greater good of Azeroth." A hint of sadness swept through her, clouding her eyes. "The Culling?" She nodded. "I had been under orders from Silvermoon City to help Arthas, investigate and stop the plague from spreading into our lands." She shuddered. "I killed innocent people, Tirion. I watched as our forces killed men, women, and children, whose only crime had been ignorance. I begged Uther beforehand to let me confess afterward." She was shaking now as the memory hit her full force, the acrid smell of the undead burning, men, women, children screaming, begging her to save them.

"Did you get to?" She was thankful for the interruption It was disturbing what lengths some people to strive to in order to protect their people. "Of course. I didn't go with Arthas to Northrend, but instead returned to Silvermoon and gave a report. But I was also grieved. " A tear slid down her cheek. Tirion put a hand on her shoulder. "What we do in the name of Justice, Peace, and Honor, can sometimes carry a heavier weight than those things we do that we know is wrong. You were acting in the best interests of your race. No one can blame you for that." Liselitha chuckled. "But then so was Arthas, when he took up the blade Frostmourne." Tirion nodded. "That is true, but the difference between you and Arthas is that you feel remorse and sorrow for what you have done in the past. Arthas doesn't. You have kept your compassion and all that makes your soul whole. Arthas has lost sight of this and as such shall face the void of oblivion when he is killed." Liselitha nodded in agreement, then stood. "I must return if I am to be in the arena tomorrow. I must rest." Tirion frowned in thought. "Why are you so intent on facing him, Liselitha." Heaving a sigh Liselitha turned back toward him and for an instant her eyes flashed their once dark blue. "Because I loved him once, and he betrayed me. He took my sister along with Sylvannas and turned her. Though not into a banshee, but the same dark twisted being that he had been before The Lich King." Tirion looked at her in horror. "Have you spoken with Dorian Mograine or Koltira Deathweaver?" She looked sadly at the frozen snow. As if sensing his mistress's distress, her drake reappeared at her side. "They told me she had not reported in since the incident at Light's Hope Chapel." Tirion nodded. It was possible that the former ranger, Lor'eal, had fled back to the Lich King, refusing to believe that she had been betrayed by her master. Tirion clapped her on the shoulder, "If there is anything you need, I will be happy to help." Liselitha simply nodded then mounted on her Drake. "Oh one more thing, Liselitha. If you should happen to 'run into' Varian Wrynn again, I suggest you apologize profoundly for your rudeness earlier today." At this Liselitha laughed. "If he calls me rude for asking to have a private conversation with an old friend, then perhaps it is not I who needs to be retrained in manners." At Tirion's confused look, she smiled. "I was on the grounds today when noticed him and Jaina Proudmoore taking a stroll. I apologized for interrupting and asked Lady Proudmoore if she would like to meet at the Legerdemain Lounge later this afternoon for a cup of tea. The King decided at that point to draw his sword, threaten me with the wrath of the alliance if I ever so dared to speak to Jaina again. I reminded him that we were on Argent Tournament grounds and that any bloodshed outside the tournament would be frowned upon by you. I then proceeded to apologize to Jaina and told her that I would be staying in the Legerdemain Lounge versus The Filthy Animal, if she should wish to catch up on old times. I seem to recall her yelling at King Wrynn about being rude to old friends as I left on my scouting trip." For some reason Tirion wasn't surprised. He would have to speak to Jaina alone about the incident in private. Though he wondered briefly if the mage would make the trip to the Legerdemain Lounge.

**O.O.O.O.O**

Liselitha landed on Krasus Landing and gave instructions to her drake to find a place to sleep. Her drake hated the stables, not that she blamed him any. They were both free souls who enjoyed the feel of the wind blowing around them as they flew. Summoning her horse she made her way to the lounge where she was staying. Her friends didn't understand why she chose to sleep where the alliance had easy access to her rooms, and therefore her life, instead of the security of the Filthy Animal. She really couldn't explain it herself. But the Legerdemain reminded her of the old days. When humans and elves had fought together and died together. Of the days when she was under the instruction of Uther and the most she had to worry about was that day's sparring match with Arthas. Those days were long gone, but it was nice to relive the good times once in a while.

She reigned in her horse as she came to the entrance to the Legerdemain Lounge. Tying off the reigns, she made sure her horse was near the watering trough, then made her way inside. Tables and chairs were arranged around the small common area, while a bar with stools ran the length of the northern wall. A party of humans, a dwarf, and a gnome sat near the bar at one of the tables. Judging by the cat-calls and whistles they were making at the barmaids walking around, they were well on their way to being drunk. It was best not to sit near them, so she opted for the table closest to the door. Pulling her cloak around her, she waved one of the barmaids over. "May I help you?" Liselitha nodded. "What meals are available tonight?" Relief passed through the barmaid's eyes as she started listing off tonight's "delicacies." It looked like another night of choking down mammoth meat. "Oh but we've also gotten a rarity, Springpaw from Eversong Woods." Her mouth watered at the mention of food from home. "How much?" The barmaid then frowned. "They're asking for 10 gold pieces on that one ma'am." Liselitha sighed, her gold was needed to repair her armor which was costly enough. Not only did she have to pay a blacksmith, but a skilled enchanter to reconstruct the intricate spells that enabled her to surge with mana. "We'll take two plates of the Springpaw." Liselitha looked up to find a cloaked figure that showed no sign of her identity. The barmaid nodded and quickly hurried to the kitchen.

"It must be of dire need to speak with me for someone to buy such a costly meal for the both of us." The cloaked figure nodded and as they sat a small amount of white robe became visible under the cloak. "I thought I was to be gutted if I so much as looked at you, Lady." Jaina Proudmoore wasn't surprised that Liselitha recognized her. "Varian can be...overzealous at times." Liselitha nodded. "We both knew an overzealous man once. Your King needs to be careful or he could turn out almost exactly like Him." Jaina took the barb in stride. Liselitha had much to resent Varian Wrynn for. "I'm sorry, Liselitha. You have ever stood by your people." Liselitha scoffed at that. "A people who are now shunned and hated by our very blood." Liselitha looked outside where two members of the Kirin Tor who happened to be Quel'Dorei stood debating over something. "Yes, mage, one is arguing about the stench of the Horde and how her former people have fallen. While the other merely offers counter examples, no true defence." Jaina blushed. She had known of Vereesa Windrunner's hatred of the Blood Elves, but did not know of the others distaste. "Have you spoken to Vereesa since..." Jaina stopped at the look in Liselitha's eyes. A pain so potent and powerful eminated from the blood elf that it was almost too much to bare. "No. I do not wish to, nor will she tolerate my presence longer than necessary when I am reporting to her husband." So there it was in a nutshell. The Blood Elf in front of her was fighting a battle for enemies that hated and despised her, all because she chose to stand with her people and her Prince in a time of need.

Thank The Light that the barmaid returned with their meals. "I hope you enjoy. It looks like you haven't been home in a while." She turned and started for the table with the drunken men. Time passed as they ate and made small talk. How were things at home? How were the missions in Northrend? Did either one have news that the other didn't know about? And so the evening continued until the drunk party started to make trouble for their waitress. "Get off me!" Liselitha sighed. She had hoped for a quiet night and not another reason for Vereesa to send her personal guards to question her...again. But the fight in the corner started getting louder, drawing the attention to the building fight. The Innkeeper was no where to be found, probably pointlessly arguing with the Silver Covenent Guards about aiding her in removing the men in question. She stood and pulled her mace from her side.

"Liselitha?" Jaina questioned. "You might want to get out of here, Lady. Things are about to get very loud and I doubt that it would look too kindly on you if you were found here." Jaina nodded and quietly slipped out of the door while the attention was still on the conflict on the other side of the common area. Making her way through the gathering crowd, she made her way to the table she had purposely avoided earlier. "_Tch, just like a pack of rabid animals waiting for a sickly deer to succumb to it's illness._" Upon reaching the table, she noticed that one of the men was holding the barmaid tightly to his chest while another was forcing her to rub her hand up and down his pants where his cock started hardening. The crowd started laughing and jeering at the misfortunate barmaid. Anger came, but instead of rashly attacking the foul human, she redirected her anger by slamming her mace onto to the table, creating a very loud crash and damaging the table.

"Is there a problem here, Gentlemen? I just heard the lady ask you to let her go." Immediately the crowd started to disperse, if there was to be a fight between the Horde and Alliance, they would not be here to be arrested and questioned. One of the men looked her up and down. "This ain't your bushinessh, Blood Elf." Liselitha looked at the men. A human warrior, human warlock, human paladin, dwarf hunter, and gnome mage. "It makes it my business if one of my 'brothers' does not adhere to the code of The Light." The men laughed at that. "I ain't no brother to a Blood Elf, you betrayed us." Humans and their ignorance. But there was no point to arguing with drunken men, the safety of the girl came first. "Look, let the girl go before I'm forced to fight you over the issue." That did it. The warrior let go of the barmaid to draw his sword, while the other four fumbled for weapons. They were so far gone that she had time to cast repentance on one and hurl a holy hammer of justice at another. Suddenly the sound of plate on cobblestones began and started getting louder at as squad of Silver Covenant soldiers made their way to the inn. In a cry of rage, the warrior charged Liselitha in an attempt to disarm her. But where he was slow from alcohol consumption, Liselitha was clear headed and blocked the blow with her shield. Back and forth they dueled, Liselitha staying on the defensive, maybe if there were witnesses to her not actually hurting any of the men, the call later tonight would be somewhat gentler. Suddenly there were soldiers holding the Warrior and her apart. "Alrighty, what's all this, then? You two know that Dalaran is sanctuary to both Alliance and Horde." Liselitha broke from the hold that the Silver Covenant soldier had on her. "Nothing, sir. Just a small disagreement over manners." She lifted her mace from where it had fallen when she had been grabbed and made her way to her room. The Innkeeper would likely require payment for the damaged table, but so far there had been no move to remove her from the inn, despite how many fights seemed to find her here.

Once in her room, Liselitha took off the heavy plate and made her way onto the bed. She could expect Vereesa's bully-boys to come again tonight, she just hoped that they would leave too many marks this time. Refusing to sleep until Vereesa's personal guard came, Liselitha instead looked herself over. Scars deep and heavy crossed her back like a sadistic game of tic-tac-toe. Suddenly, Uther's word came out of no where. _"You'll find that betrayal will leave deeper scars than those of any battlefield."_ And that had been true. Sure her body was covered with tiny scars from her battles, and a not so small scar given to her by Arthas. But none of these stood out like the ravaging scars that made her back look like it had been through a meat grinder. _"Scream for me, you traitor-elf bitch."_ She shook the memory away.

"You know showing off your battle scars does nothing to make me feel pity for _your_ kind." Liselitha turned to find, not the Silver Covenent guards she had been expecting, but Vereesa Windrunner herself. "You are still a child, Vereesa, if you think I look for sympathy." Liselitha pulled her grey tunic back over her head. "Tch, with all the trouble you've caused me, I seriously doubt you just happened to leave your shirt off by accident." Counting slowly to ten, the Blood elf let the anger flow through and then out of her like a tidal wave. "Vereesa, you were not there. While you and your husband were off uselessly negotiating with the alliance, our borders were ransacked, our blood spilled, and the fount of our power destroyed. Then to add insult to injury, your beloved Alliance branded us as traitors for seeking help." Vereesa raise her hand to slap the Blood elf, not because she had said something wrong, but because she was completely right. "You can hit me till your heart is content, Vereesa. But that will never take back the atrocities that happened." Liselitha sighed tiredly, "Your Alliance is far from perfect, Vereesa. You ally yourself with our cousins of old and those that betrayed us to the hands of the scourge. Who is the more fallen? The one who learns from their mistakes and rises up despite them, or the one who clings to old ideals and beds with the traitors of her blood?" Vereesa back handed the blood elf. "The Alliance tolerates your Horde here because there is a greater evil than petty differences that must be dealt with. But rest assured, things will go back to the way they were after the Lich King has fallen, and the Alliance will triumph." Vereesa turned and stormed from the room. Liselitha felt the sting of hatred that had been in that slap, really she was getting used to it. She fell onto the mattress and went to sleep and she dreamed.

**O.O.O.O.O.O.O**

_She looked around. She was in Silvermoon City, in the house she grew up in as a child. She heard the patter of feet outside her door. "Lis! Are you still getting ready? You need to hurry up! They'll be here any moment!" She looked in the mirror and found herself to be around twelve years old. She opened the door to see the elaborate blue rugs and gold accents that highlighted her house. She took a step out, in place of the faint smell of the dead that still lingered in Eversong Woods was her mother's wonderful home cooking. Thera Sunweaver smiled as her daughter descended the stairs. A feeling of longing swept through Liselitha. It had been years, even since before Arthas' attack that she had seen her mother. "Liselitha, are you ok? There's nothing to be nervous about. The human, Lord Uther only wants to speak with you. You don't have to make a decision right now." Her mother had misread the pain that had crossed her face, or did her dream self look nervous? She didn't know. All she knew was she wanted to pull her mother into a tight hug and never let go. "Yeah, Lis. It's not like you're having to face Sylvannas Windrunner herself..." Lor'eal chuckled, nervous about her own career path. Lor'eal, alive,well, not a Death Knight. She felt herself smile when she wanted to cry, apologize, beg for forgiveness for not protecting them. They sat at the table in the kitchen and their mother served them a meal fit for princesses._

_Suddenly, their father came through the door escorting two people that most people knew on sight. "My apologies, love, for the late arrival." Thera only smiled at her husband and waved the three of them to the table. "No apologies necessary, Aerith. Please, sit. Would you care for some breakfast? I know the travel from Lordaeron can be tiring." Sylvannas thanked Thera and began serving herself, then motioned for Uther to do the same. "Thank you, My Lady. You set a fine table." Thera nodded and glowed at the compliment. Aerith took a drink from his goblet of wine. "And may I introduce my daughters, Liselitha and Laur'eal..."_

_**Author's note:** You'll learn more and more about Liselitha as she "dreams." Please R&R._


	2. The Tournament

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own any part of Warcraft or World of Warcraft or the Character's there-in. Nor do I own, Twinky, Azidan, or any other named character in this story outside of Liselitha and Laur'eal, those characters are owned by their respective account holders, I'm just playing with them in my twisted sense of fun._

_Author's note:_ _ I need to explain a couple of story mechanics that I started in the chapter. When I was first writing this, my personal playing experience was a BIG contribution. At the time that I was writing this particular chapter, I had not (and still have not FYI) gotten passed Thorim and Freya and I was still fairly new to my current guild even though 3.2 had been out for 2 months. Also, Instead of one challenge after another, I've changed the tournament mechanics to one challenge per night over the course of a week. This was done to further the plot and because outside of the game and the raid setting it really didn't make sense to have one challenge after another in this particular story. Another game mechanic that I altered is the use of resurrection and tanking mechanics. With the amount of energy it takes to just heal a target, resurrection would kill the person casting it. While I've tried to hold true to tanking mechanics, it was hard. Anyway Please Read and Review. No Flames but constructive criticism is welcome_

Chapter 2: The Tournament

Liselitha hated waiting, She was ready to give her latest report from Ulduar to Rhonin. Six months in that god forsaken (or rather God-inhabited) complex, and not one showing of the old god. Instead, they had found the titan keepers being held against their will and brain washed. Frankly, she was glad to be participating in the tournament tonight. It would be a change from spying on the mountains over looking Icecrown Citadel, or continuing to help in the fight of retaking Ulduar. Light, where the hell was he? She still had to respond to an incident at Utgarde Keep, on top of her daily errands for the tournament, and Rhonin was wasting valuable time. Emerging from the room on the left side of the Violet Citadel, Rhonin finally made his way down to the impatiently waiting Blood Elf. "Pardon my tardiness, Liselitha. There were a few morning issues that needed to be cleared up." Liselitha was tempted to sigh, but withheld it. "It is no problem, Rhonin. I am merely giving an update on the situation at Ulduar." Rhonin inclined his head urging her to continue. "While Freya and Thorim are greatful for being freed of Yogg-Saron's influence, we have had no success with Hodir or Mimiron. In fact, Hodir is holding four of our best spell casters hostage. Efforts are being made to free them, however it will take more time to get them out safely." Rhonin cursed as he heard the news. The fact that four of the best people he could send in aid of the situation at Ulduar were captured was not good. "Alright, keep up the efforts to retrieve them, Liselitha. I expect a report back from you in three weeks. For now, I would like to speak with you in private." Liselitha raised an eyebrow. Usually she was dismissed, or if there was an incident Rhonin usually just gave her a warning and then dismissed. Following Rhonin to his office, Liselitha grew suspicious of what this "talk" might entail.

Rhonin closed the door behind her and motioned for her to sit in the chair opposite his side of the desk. "Liselitha, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to move to The Filthy Animal. These fights and disruptions are becoming too frequent." Liselitha shook her head. "And again, I don't start these incidents, Rhonin. I have much more important things to do than to start fights." "But you certainly seem to have time to finish them." Rhonin quipped. Liselitha flushed red with restrained anger. "Rhonin, a _human_ waitress would have been raped and humiliated had I not stepped in when I did." Rhonin looked at her thoughtfully. "I will admit, we've had less harassment of the citizenry since you've taken up residence there. But, no. I will need you to move. I can reach you just as easily from The Filthy Animal, as can Tirion Fordring." Liselitha was now angry. While she didn't like dwelling on her past, there were a few good memories that had been kept alive because of the Legerdemain Lounge. "I will move as you request, Rhonin. But as I will be participating in the Tournament this week, I will not be able to get back to Ulduar until next week." Rhonin nodded in understanding. He knew she was angry, but he had to stand firm on his subordinates. She rose to leave and gather her items from the Legerdemain Lounge. "Liselitha, is there any particular reason why you insisted on staying at the Legerdemain?" She turned and again, her eyes turned the brief shade of blue they had been before she had drank the fel blood. "It reminded me of a home now long gone." And with that she left, leaving Rhonin very confused about that particular Blood Elf.

Liselitha flew over the war torn landscape of Icecrown. Scourge crawled over the tundra looking for the precious saronite that was the base for their armaments. She also kept her eye out for a vein of titanium. The rich ore was needed to blend with the raw elements of Northrend. This blend when hardened was more powerful than any other material known in Azeroth. But the making of this metal was so intensive that only one bar of it could be created in a day. Alas, though there was no titanium to be found today as she flew to the Argent Tournament Grounds. She landed near the Sunreaver's Pavilion, where her friends were already gathering. "Hey, Lis!" She supressed a shutter at the shortened form of her name, then turned to find Babylon motioning for her gather round. Most of them were here, Azidan, a blood elf mage with black, spiky hair, was the unofficial leader of their group. A mish-mashed group of heroes of the Horde, they had all met recently, with Liselitha being the newest. None of her new friends knew anything about her past and she wished it to remain that way. They all had their own stories, their own hardships, she could not be so selfish as to divulge her troubling past. "Liselitha Sunweaver?" An argent squire came running up to her. "Come with me please, High Lord Fordring would like a word." The confused looks that her friends gave her made her uneasy, they would probably ask questions. "It's probably nothing. I'll be right back." She motioned for the squire to lead the way and she followed.

The scene that greeted her as she entered the Argent Crusade Pavilion would have been comical if an all out war were not about to break out. Thrall and Jaina Proudmoore stood on opposite ends of the tent as both King Varian Wrynn and Garrosh Hellscream stood in the center screaming insults at each other. Tirion Fordring stood in the center trying to break up the two hot-headed males. Instantly seeing why she was summoned, she cast a repentance at Garrosh and a Hammer of Justice at Varian Wrynn. Silence reigned for about 10 seconds, which was all Tirion needed to move Varian and Garrosh back to opposite ends of the tent. "If that is all I was needed for High Lord, I would highly recommend returning to your trainer to learn of those two spells." Liselitha commented drily. "No, Liselitha, I wanted you to give your report to both sides to confirm what I have been trying to say." Then the silence ended. "This is a waste of my time. You bring a traitor and an outlaw here to vouch for you, Tirion? You might as well have Arthas brought here." Varian spat angrily. "Liselitha is neither a traitor nor an outlaw, King Wrynn. She is a former pupil of Uther the Lightbringer, and knows more about how Arthas fights than any gathered here." Thrall looked at her with a new found interest.

Then the repentance spell wore off from Garrosh. "For once I agree with the pompous king. She should not be here, in fact for even casting a spell on a high ranking officer of the Horde, she should be sentenced to death." Liselitha bit her tongue. Garrosh was an ass, even for an orc, but she didn't need Thrall agreeing with him. She wanted to return home someday, and she couldn't if she were branded traitor and had to seek asylum with the Argent Crusade. Instead, she turned to High Lord Fordring. "What exactly are you wanting me to report, my lord?" Tirion looked at her curiously. "the most recent events, of course." Liselitha nodded and kept her eyes on Fordring. "The scourge seem to be keeping closer to the citadel than the past. Ymirheim is receiving another envoy of troops from Utgarde Keep and Jotunheim. New wards are being placed around the citadel as well as more guards. While we're busy fighting at the base, more reinforcements are being placed in the higher reaches. This has been going on for the last few days." Her latest report was essential. "As you can see, the time to march is now. New armor is being forged for our heroes that would march with us as we speak. It will be rewarded in the Tournament to those who are found worthy." Then the fighting started again. "My lord, I must return. My friends are probably wondering where I have gone and we are due in the tournament arena soon." The leaders of both sides looked at her then. "You...You are to fight in the tournament?" Varian Wrynn began laughing, followed soon by Garrosh. "A tiny woman as yourself has no hope of ever living through such a rigorous trial, return to the mountains where you belong." She bristled in anger, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Azidan had followed her and had heard everything, he motioned with his head to follow him. She nodded gratefully and left the asses laughing on the floor together on another point that they agreed on.

"So when were you going to tell us?" They were walking slowly back to where their group was gearing up and getting ready to enter the Colosseum. The trip had been mostly silent until he asked. "Never. I liked being just another new hero with very little under her belt." Azidan nodded. "But it's a lie, you were trained under Uther himself, at the same time as Arthas?" Liselitha sighed heavily, she would have no peace now. "Azidan, that is a past that I reveal to very few. Yes, to both of your questions, but I would appreciate it if you did not mention it to anyone." Azidan pulled her to a stop, "Lis, you sure you don't want anyone else knowing? That's a cold, lonely road to walk." She smiled up at him and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. "I appreciate the concern, but I like living with the illusion that I am just another hero. Even if it's only for a short time." She heaved a sigh and started walking again towards the tournament ring.

The Coliseum was huge. Rising over three stories in height, it was made of solid stone and wood. Liselitha was overwhelmed at the shear grandness of the craftsmanship. The spectators where a full story above them offering a safe distance from where the action was going on in the ring, yet providing an unparalleled view of the ring. Directly above them were boxes where the supreme rulers of each faction sat. On the right was King Varian Wrynn, escorted by Jaina Proudmoore. On the left was Thrall, accompanied by Garrosh. In the center, opposite of the entrance for the various challenges that they would be facing today, stood Tirion Fordring. Calling upon the light, she began saying prayers of blessing over her friends. She felt herself begin to swell with power to enhance her spell casting, she felt the many spells that her friends incanted begin to swell and fill her with power. Someone then set up a feast of Northrend Fish delicacies. She began to feel the heady feeling of the many spells and being well fed, to the point where she felt the mana inside her pooling, waiting to be released. Azidan gathered them around for one more quick prep speech. But her mind was on the five people above them who had their eyes trained specifically on her. Tirion, Thrall, Garrosh, Varian, and Jaina, she knew that Varian and Garrosh would want to see her killed in this ring. To Thrall, she was probably just a curiosity. The only two that she didn't feel confusion or hostility from were Tirion and Jaina. Then the circle broke and Azidan gave a nod to the herald.

"Welcome Champions!" Fordring's voice boomed over the coliseum. "You have heard the call of the Argent Crusade and you have boldly answered! Hailing from the deepest, darkest caverns of the storm peaks, Gormok the Impaler! Battle on, heroes!"

Anticipation settled into her gut as the gates as a Magnataur ran into the ring completely confused as to his surroundings. He was huge, a full 12-14 feet in height, with a huge sword caked with blood and jagged edges. Immediately, she called upon the light and created a beacon upon Babylon. Any healing prayers that she said over her injured friends would then be also cast upon him. As the battle began, she began her incantations, using her mana to keep her friends alive...until the beast threw a fire bomb her way. Searing heat enveloped her as she ran out of the burning pitch that was still to hot to go anywhere near. Then she felt the cool sensation of a wave heal that a shaman healer had incanted upon her. She returned to her concentration on keeping the two people up front that traded taunts when the beatings go to be too much for one of them. It continued on like this, the beast throwing fire, sometimes his snobold vassals would jump onto random people stunning them until they could get to help. Then, he faltered and he crashed into a dead heap upon the floor, his body smoking from all the spells that had been cast upon him.

"Steel yourselves, heroes, for the twin terrors Acidmaw and Dreadscale. Enter the arena!" The voice rang out over the arena like a death knell. Two Jurmungers then slithered into the arena. They looked like the kind that would have no problem eating anything smaller than them, even if it were smaller worms. She braced herself, feeling the mana slowly begin to deplete. She would need to call upon the light soon to replenish the source of her healing abilities. Then the battle started. Back and forth, Babylon and Vindicator ran around the arena keeping the worms from attacking other members of their party. She had to keep concentrating on the delicate incantations that she had been trained on. The worms had an annoying habit of infecting people with different types of bile. Then, Acidmaw dropped, yet the other remained, and he was pissed. As if brought on by a second wind, Dreadscale began pounding on Babylon, and it took more and more of her concentration to focus on keeping him alive. Sweat beaded on her forehead as Dreadscale dropped dead next to the other worm. Panting for breath she called upon the strength of the light and she felt the tightness in her stomach start to loosen.

"The air freezes with the introduction of our next combatant, Icehowl! Kill or be killed, champions!" The yeti that entered was almost comical, until she got frozen in place. However, when he managed to knock everyone into the wall, it was funny again. If you ever looked an angry, starving yeti in the face, you would run as fast as you could to avoid being his next meal. However, Icehowl wasn't so bright, instead of following his next course around, he ran into the wall and stunned himself. Seeing the advantage of this, everyone began attacking whenever he did this. Hence, he was defeated much faster than his predecessors.

"Congratulations, champions! You're new armor shall be awarded after you have completed all the tasks of the tournament. Go now and rest, you've earned it."

Liselitha collapsed onto her cot inside the Sunreaver's Pavilion after removing her armor. She would have to take it over to the Argent Blacksmith in the morning. Her friends had insisted on celebrating their victory until late in the night. She was tired however, healing to that intensity always drained her.

_She was walking through the rose garden in the Castle Lordaeron. It was one of the few that Terenas kept in memory of his late wife. She had been here for three years under Uther's careful tutelage. And, much to her chagrin, paired with Prince Arthas as her training partner. "They are beautiful, aren't they?" She turned to find King Terenas surveying her with a friendly smile on his face. "Yes, My Lord. They are very beautiful. I believe your wife would be proud." A brief look of sorrow passed over the king's face, but was quickly replaced by the friendly smile that had been there when he had first engaged her. He offered her his arm and continued walking with her slowly through the garden. "Lord Uther tells me that both you and Arthas are exceeding his expectations. You are progressing in your healing abilities far faster than my son, while he is more practiced in the harmful spells that a paladin can wield." Liselitha nodded at the assessment. "I had begun training as a priestess in Quel'thalas, but there was something wrong. I could do the basic healing spells but none of the enhancement spells. Then they saw me wield a polearm. And it decided that my family should look to the humans to train me in the ways of the paladin." King Terenas was amused at the story. Many of the High Elves he met would consider it beneath their station to accept training from a human. _

"_Liselitha Sunweaver?" Their walk was interrupted by a courier. "Yes?" The Courier handed her a letter and then went about his business. "If you will excuse me, My Lord. I believe this is from my sister. One of the major tests to become a ranger in training has been issued and I have been expecting to hear from her if she passed or failed." King Terenas nodded and she walked up to the small room she used during her years of training. She sat at her desk, opened the letter carefully and began reading the flowing language of her home._

"_Dear Liselitha,_

_I hope your training is going as well as mine. I am being personally trained by Sylvannas Windrunner herself, the Ranger-General of Quel'Thalas! I do hope that you and Prince Arthas are getting on better. Nathanos and I are good friends now. Who knows maybe one day we will all get together and introduce our own special pains in the ass. I miss you Lis, I hope that we see each other soon. Father says that he's petitioning Uther to let you come home at least for The Feast of Winterveil. We have been personally invited by King Anasterian as a thank you to Father for forging Prince Kael'thas' new daggers. Father also is wondering if you've kept up with your training in the smithy, even if it is from clumsy humans. He also has a present for you when you return. I know what it is, but I'm not telling you. Anyway, I am now rambling. And before I forget. I passed my test, as did Nathanos. We'll be starting the third stage of our training soon. I miss you, sister. Write back soon._

_Your Loving Sister,_

_Laur'eal"_

It was a knee-jerk reaction. She had felt someone touch her, grabbed her dagger from under her pillow, and had it at the offender's throat within a split second of being touched. Unfortunately, the Warchief of the Horde did not look amused, and was in fact fighting the urge to disarm and gut the Blood Elf. "Steady, Hero. I only wish to speak with you." She looked outside and could see that it was still dark but the faint light of the false dawn was starting to make it's appearance. She nodded quietly and sat up. Thrall turned away when he noticed that she wore nothing but her tunic. She quietly pulled on some pants, armed herself with her mace and pulled on her cloak. She then motioned for the warchief to lead the way. She noticed that he headed for the stables and made his Windrider ready. She sent a sharp, quick whistle through the VERY cold morning air. By the time he was ready, her drake had landed, given her a disapproving look and allowed her to mount. He flew past her heading toward the Silent Vigil, the place where she had buried Bridenbrad's body after A'dal had saved his spirit. This was probably going to be one long talk.

**Author's Note:** _Please R__&R_


	3. The Warchief and the Highlord

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Warcraft. I barely own my Blood Elf. All Characters mentioned are the property of their respective players.

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the long wait in updating. I've been having writer's block with this story and I don't want it to sound forced. I wanted to write a few good chapters before updating as well. As far as writing goes, I'm almost done with the tournament, which as you'll recall I turned into a week long event vs. a back to back encounter in the game. Mainly, this was due to character and plot development as well as giving it a feel of reality vs. game time. Anyhow, onto Chapter 3! Also due to editing I'm having to use Italics to indicate when she's dreaming or thinking.

As soon as they landed on top of the peak of the Silent Vigil, She dismissed her netherwing drake with a promise of a hot meal. Thrall gathered his thoughts. He was curious about the Blood Elf. Tirion's mention of her training and her past association with The Lich King's former self had led to questions of why he did not know these things about members of his own Horde. "Was there something you needed, Warchief?" The question was almost as frigid as the air. She didn't like being woken from the few good memories she dreamed about. "Why have you kept this information a secret from us?" It wasn't said with anger, more of a passing curiosity. Liselitha was confused. "What information?" Thrall turned to look at her incredulously. "This information would have been valuable in the weeks leading up to our initial invasion in this God forsaken place." Then Liselitha understood. "Would it have changed Garrosh's or Sylvannas' mind? No. Sylvannas knew of my past. She hides it well, but she knew exactly who I was when she sent me as her envoy to you on behalf of the Blood Elves. At any point during our alliance you could have asked Sylvannas or Lor'themar. I keep my past a secret for many reasons, Warchief." She turned and whistled, summoning her drake. Thrall then realized why she ran, "You're ashamed of your past." She turned back to look at him, her eyes flashed blue for two seconds then they returned to their fel green. "If you had committed half the crimes I had, you would be too." Thankfully, the drake arrived at that moment. She hopped on and soared back down to the tournament grounds. Thrall turned to the east where the sun began to rise in earnest. He would have a talk with the Banshee Queen, this was not the first time she had kept vital information from him.

Liselitha sneaked back into the Sunreaver's Pavilion and quietly returned to where she slept. She looked at her friends that were still asleep in the early morning. She would make a few errand runs before the tournament, she needed to get out of the grounds for a little while before Jaina awoke and decided to confront her as well. Or heaven forbid she run into Garrosh or Varian this early in the morning. She quickly donned her armor and returned to where she had left her dragon to wait. The cool air was beginning to warm, or so it felt like. "Liselitha Sunweaver?" She sighed in annoyance, she wanted to actually escape duty for a moment. "This had better be important squire." The squire simply held up a missive addressed to her. She paid him for the delivery and opened it.

"Lady Sunweaver,

I request your presence regarding the tournament. Please meet me at the Silver Covenant Pavilion after receiving this missive."

It was signed by Jaina. This was what she had been hoping to avoid. Apparently, she hadn't just gotten Garrosh's panties in a bunch, but also Varian's. With a longing look to her lonely mountain perch, she sighed and began walking over to the Silver Covenant Pavilion where yet another confrontation this morning awaited her.

Jaina looked at her tersely as Liselitha made her way over to the "enemy" pavilion. The latter had been stopped numerous times by squires delivering missives from any number of places. _I could kill any one of these commanders right now._ She thought angrily. There had to be other adventurers around who could take care of some of these missions. After she met with Jaina, she would check in with her friends to see if maybe they wanted some extra gold before the second round of the tournament. She saw that the mage looked unhappy about being kept waiting. "My apologies, Lady Proudmoore, for keeping you waiting. What was it you wished to discuss?" Jaina eyed her with disapproval. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Liselitha? Participating in this tournament is insane and you know it." Liselitha waited while Jaina went on about how she could be killed; how getting into Icecrown Citadel would be much worse and more likely that she would die, then raised from the dead as a banshee to serve the very being she wanted revenge on. "Jaina, are you going to stand idly by and watch as other champions who are in it for the gold or the rewards fight your battles?" Jaina stopped abruptly, then looked bashful. "No, I'm actually going to be helping Sylvannas Windrunner run a reconnaissance mission when we finally do march upon Icecrown Citadel." Liselitha nodded. "And what of me, Jaina? Do I not deserve that same right?" The mage looked down. She knew that Liselitha had as much, if not more, right as her to be there when they finally marched upon the citadel. "And when we finally confront him?" Liselitha's eyes glowed and changed from burning green to Ice blue. "I shall free those that he has enslaved, and give Laur'eal the burial she deserves." She turned and left, but her eyes never changed back.

When she approached the tent, she was at once blocked by the guards. "No Silver Covenant members allowed, go back to your own tent." Baffled, she raised herself to her full height. "I am Liselitha Sunweaver, member of the Sin'dorei." The guards laughed at her. "If you were a member of the Sin'dorei, your eyes would be Fel Green like the rest of us." Confused, "My eyes are fel green, they've been fel green for six years." Again, the guards laughed. "Trust us, Quel'dorei, your eyes are not fel green, nor do they look as if you have even tasted fel magic." "Prove your words, I demand to see a mirror." She replied hotly. The guards chuckled as one ducked into the tent to retrieve a mirror. Upon his return, she yanked the mirror from his hand and turned the face towards her. Shocked by the sight of her eyes, she collapsed into a heap in front of the no longer laughing guards.

_She felt hot and heavy hands roaming over her body as a wave of pleasure ripped through her. "Arthas..." The name on her tongue was as sweet as the wine that still was detectable on his lips. She felt his kisses dip down to below her neck and passing into the valley between her breasts. She didn't know exactly when they had decided to become lovers, but she was glad for it now. "Lis..." Her name was lost as he pillaged her breasts and made the heat rise higher. She felt his hands moving lower and she matched him, brushing her hands over the planes of his chest and abdomen, and stopping over the ties to his trews. Slowly she untied the small bits of cloth holding the pants on, as he was doing the same. She felt his length then, hot and thick it rippled in the promise of ecstasy. He groaned as she touched him and she felt emboldened. She began to run her fingers along his length taking her time to explore him. But Arthas wasn't as patient. She laughed as he picked up her nude form and transferred her onto the bed. He then set to work, exploring every inch that she had to offer, all seventy inches. She mumbled incoherently in a mix of Thalassian and Common. Then she felt him stop. "Lis, if you don't want to do this. You don't have to." That was always like him, leaping before he looked, but then looking mid-leap. She smiled at him, and that was why she loved him. She kissed him. "No, Arthas, I do want this." He kissed her back, slowly at first, then began to kiss her with the fire of his passion. And not just his passion in the bedroom, but the passion he held for all aspects of his life._

Liselitha jolted awake, and promptly hit her head on the bunk above her. Wincing and cursing in pain, she was forced to lay back onto the bed until her head cleared. She faintly heard boots walking on wood, and frowned as they got louder. "So you're awake." She looked over at Tirion to find him frowning down at her. "So it would seem. What happened that I was dragged all the way here and not put into the Sunreaver Pavilion?" Tirion's frown deepened. "You mean you don't remember?" Then it all came rushing back, the conversation with Jaina, the argument with the guards, the mirror, and...She bolted upright and raced towards a mirror hanging on the wall. Her eyes were fel green, but she could have swore... "They were blue. The guards and Jaina can attest to that." Tirion's voice sounded far away, and she was baffled. "But how? I thought the fel magic was irreversable. Hence the reason that the orcs on Azeroth are green skinned and the untainted orcs on the remains of Draenor are their original brown." Tirion looked at her. "I don't know, Liselitha. Did you willingly take the fel magic into your system? Consume it of your own free will?"

Liselitha wasn't sure, That portion of her life was a blur, a twisting nether of pain. "I don't know. I honestly don't. All I remember was the agony of the addiction. Whether I chose to partake of the fel magic or not was a moot point when I awoke. It had been done and over with by the time I fully awoke." Tirion nodded. "I noticed it when we were speaking the other day, I thought it was a trick of the light at the time, but I now know that it wasn't. Whatever happened, it is obvious that it is being reversed." Liselitha curiously. "With the Sunwell restored, I can understand. But why now. It has been two years since Kael'thas Sunstrider was defeated and the Sunwell restored, and none of my other brethren have noticed a change." Tirion contemplated this. "Perhaps, it is not a why now, but more of a why you. This is just a theory, but what if you were forced into the fel magic? Maybe more, against your free will. You say you have very little recollection of that time. What if in your pain, someone gave you the fel magic in the form of water or some other means?" It was perfectly rational, but still... "Why me and why now? What is the significance of my losing the fel taint at this point?" Tirion looked at her. "What were you just dreaming about?" Liselitha was embarrased, the dream had been a very intimate moment with Arthas near the beginning of their relationship. "About Arthas, when I was seventeen." Tirion nodded. "And from what I understand, You were arguing with Jaina about whether or not it was right of you to confront Arthas. I believe that these changes may become permanent if you succeed in righting the wrongs of your past. More precisely, by defeating Arthas and freeing those he has trapped." Liselitha frowned at the thought. "There is one way to test your theory, Tirion, but I will need to do so later. I need to get some errands done before I am in the ring again tonight." Tirion raised his eyebrows. "Liselitha, you've been asleep all day. I afraid whatever plans you had need to be rearranged. Your team enters the ring in one hour." Cursing she raced from the Argent Pavilion and over to Sunreaver Pavilion.

Azidan was not happy. "Where have you been? There's all sorts of rumors flying around about you. And you're late to boot." Liselitha, short of breath, was still struggling into her boots, which at the moment refused to go onto her feet. "Not...m'fault. The healers at the Argent Pavilion didn't wake me." Azidan looked confused. "Why were you in the Argent Pavilion for healing? Why not the Sunreaver Pavilion?" Liselitha looked at him with frustration as she finally fell onto her back from the strain of trying to get her boot on. "Would you like some help with that?" Liselitha shot him a heated glare. "No. I'm fine. I was in the Argent Pavilion because the guards at the Sunreaver Pavilion refused to let me in." Azidan looked at her confused. "You must have pissed someone high up off." She would let him think that, it was better than telling him the truth about what was happening. "Yeah I would be surprised if it were Garrosh Hellscream." Azidan laughed at that. The confrontation between the two of them must have been funny from an outside point of view. "Anyway, you be mostly focusing on keeping Babylon up tonight. Don't know what they have planned, but we'll beat it down." Liselitha nodded and made her way to the Argent tournament ring with Azidan next to her.

Again the same thing happened, Prayers of sanctity and fortitude were said by members of the group, while a feast fit for a king made them swell with power and pride. Liselitha blessed her comrades with Holy Strength, Wisdom, Vitality, and Sanctuary. And lastly prayed to the light for herself. She felt herself swell once again with deeper pools of mana than she had previously, as if the prayers and spells had opened her up more to the deep and hidden wells of power she possessed. Then they saw the officiators of the matches enter. Tirion Fordring then addressed the assembled crowd. "Welcome back, champions. I am glad to see you return to the ring and I hope that you have rested well. Grand Warlock Wilfred Fizzlebang will summon forth your next challenge. Stand by for his entry!" The gates at the other end of the Colosseum opened to reveal a wizzened gnome. Liselitha had never personally seen a gnome, who could not change into a dragon, up close and was intrigued by the short creature. Then it spoke, "Thank you, Highlord! Now challengers, I will begin the ritual of summoning! When I am done, a fearsome Doomguard will appear!" Liselitha's gut wrenched at the prospect. Hadn't Outland been enough? She had slain hundreds of the untamed minions that warlocks often subdued. And now she was to face another. The Gnome's next words invaded her thoughts as a dark purple summoning circle appeared in the center of the arena. "Prepare for oblivion!" A huge dark portal appeared, and from within it's depths, a thing of deep red step forth. This was no doomguard, this was an Eredar Lord! How the hell had the gnome been able to summon that thing! "Ah ha! Behold the absolute power of Wilfred Fizzlebang, master summoner! You are bound to ME, demon!" If she had been less scared of the demon lord, she would have put her face in her palm at the idiotic tendencies of this particular gnome. After the confusion of the summoning passed, The demon addressed the gnome that now proclaimed to be his master. "Trifling gnome, your arrogance will be your undoing!" The gnome tried for one last voice of power. "But I'm in charge her-" The gnome never got to finish the sentence, before the demon quickly dispatched of him. She heard panic start to rise in the crowd as people quickly made their way to the exits. But Highlord Fordring took control of the situation. "Quickly, heroes! Destroy the demon lord before it can open a portal to its twisted demonic realm!" Now the demon faced Babylon who took a staggering step backward. "You face Jaraxxus, eredar lord of the Burning Legion!"

As soon as the demon had turned to face Babylon, she immediately began to channel healing and protective spells. Suddenly the demon through up his hand and one of the combatants burst into bright green flames. Liselitha watched as the person ran around in a panic, until a shaman sent a healing wave of water over the person. But the flames were nothing compared to what happened next. The demon indeed open a portal and summoned forth a mistress of pain. Tension began to creep into the group. Vindicator taunted the mistress of pain while another of their group was sent aflame. She busily concentrated on keeping Babylon alive, while the other two healers focused on keeping the rest of the group. Sweat beaded on her forehead as the constant incantations drew every ounce of mana that she had within her. By this time the mistress of pain was killed and everyone concentrated on killing Jaraxxus. But she was beginning to tire, and the next spell the demon cast made her groan in pain as the last of her energies were poured into keeping Babylon alive. A portal for summoning infernal demons opened and the balled forms of their resting state poured forth. Three Infernal demons took shape and began attacking. Once again everyone's attention with diverted to killing the minions of the eredar lord. She called out to the light to give her strength and felt her mana begin to replenish slowly. She restarted the incantation for the Holy Light and watched as Babylon continued to fight the demon lord. Then everyone moved back to damaging Jaraxxus, as his infernals had been destroyed. Then, he fell forward with a thud and with his last breath proclaimed "Another will take my place. Your world is doomed." and then the demon breathed no more. Liselitha winced in pain as her mind tried to slow down the incantation to a stop then she collapsed for a second time that day, but she did not lose consciousness.

The Highlord began to address the assembled on-lookers. "The loss of Wilfred Fizzlebang, while unfortunate, should be a lesson to those that dare dabble in dark magic. Alas, you are victorious and will face the next challenge tomorrow evening. Go and celebrate your triumph." Tired and in no mood to celebrate, the weary group of heroes trooped out of the arena, some supporting others. "Come on, Lis. I'll help you." She looked up to find Babylon standing there over her with his hand outstretched. "Was never really good at the healing arts myself, but you're very good." She smiled up at him wearily as he supported her weight. Together they walked from the arena and the stench of the demon lord.

But apparently the night was not over for everyone. There was an argument going on. "Treacherous Alliance dogs! You summon a demon lord against warriors of the Horde! Your deaths will be swift!" She could hear the venom in Garrosh Hellscream's words. "Uh, Babylon, I think I need to go." His attention was drawn away from whatever he was saying to the brewing argument. "Oh leave it alone, Lis. They're just going to fight about it then everyone will cool down tomorrow." She shook her head. "I've got a bad feeling, Babylon. I'll meet you guys back at the pavilion." She disengaged herself from him and made her way over to where the fight was brewing. "The Alliance doesn't need the help of a demon lord to deal with Horde filth. Come, pig!" That was all the invitation that Garrosh needed. He swung his axe at Varian Wrynn, but was blocked by the Ashbringer "Everyone, calm down! Compose yourselves! There is no conspiracy at play here. The warlock acted on his own volition - outside of influences from the Alliance." Liselitha ran up to where he stood. "Is everything alright, Highlord?" Tirion looked at her in surprise. "Liselitha, I thought you would be in bed. Yes everything is under control here." At this point, the Highlord glared at the two hot-headed individuals. "Our honor has been besmirched! They make wild claims and false accusations against us. I demand justice! We challenge the Horde!" Liselitha could only watch as a decision was made. "I will allow your champions to fight in place of my knights tomorrow night, Varian. But they will fight with honor, and obey the rules of combat." With that the Highlord tuned to leave. "I hope your little healer rests well for tomorrow, she's going to need it." Varian sneered. For that she kicked King Wrynn in the groin. "You would do well to remember who I am, Varian Wrynn. I don't care if you were highjacked on your way to a meeting with the Horde, you will treat the Warchief with respect and respect the wishes of Highlord Fordring." She turned away and felt a dagger hit her shield, where her back would have been.

_He was leaving her. She watched as he bowed to Daelin Proudmoore and his daughter, Jaina. The air about him was different, the same as it had been when they had first realized that they had feelings for each other. "Sister Sunweaver." She turned to find Uther walking up to her. At age nineteen, she was one of the youngest members of the Knights of the Silver Hand. She and Arthas had just passed their final test, and had been inducted together. And now, three days later, he looked at another woman the way he had eyed her on that fateful day. It hurt. It was good she was returning to Quel'Thalas for a short time before officially beginning her service. "Yes, Uther?" He broke into a smile. "I thought you would be on your way home by now. From what you told me, your sister is being inducted into the Rangers of Silvermoon shortly." She nodded. "It will be good to see home again. I miss Silvermoon City very much. There was just one more thing. But it appears that it will have to wait until I return." Uther nodded in understanding. "Lost love is a hard burden to bear." She nodded, then turned to him with her eyes shining with unshed tears. "It is for the best. I will live thousands of years after he had passed. My parents are older than his great grandfather, and I...well, I know that there will be time for all of this later." Uther placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You will do well, Liselitha. Just remember to return in three months for your first assignment." Liselitha nodded, then turned and made her way to her room in Castle Lordaeron for one last time. She had practically grown up here. Only seeing her family on holidays. She began packing clothes and other valuables. She came across a book and opened the cover. There, pressed between the cover and the rest of the book, lay a small sprig of peacebloom. She carefully cradled it in her hand and began to weep. She lay the fragile flower back in it's cover, and gently placed the book in her backpack. Taking one last look around, Liselitha made her way out of the Keep to the stables where her horse rested. She made the horse ready, but a voice made her stop. "So you're leaving, just like that?" She turned to find Varian Wrynn looking down at her. "Varian, I don't expect you to understand, but this is for the best. Arthas and Jaina will make a fine pair. We would have never worked, we're too much alike." He stepped closer, she knew he had been infatuated with her. "And me?" Liselitha shook her head. "Varian, you're married now, with a child of your own. I've always held you as a friend. It's why I made these..." She held up a glinting dagger, "So that we three will never forget that we are brothers and sister in arms."_

**Author's Note:** Please R&R, constructive criticism is welcomed, but flames will be extinguished.


	4. Stratholme

**Disclaimer:** I don't own it, I just play around with it.

**Author's Note:** This chapter is a bit short, but very important. That being said...on with the show.

Her head hurt and the sunlight glinting in between the curtains only made it worse. "You look terrible." She looked up at the undead rogue standing above her. "Gee, Twinky, you don't look so hot yourself." She said venomously. His real name was Robert, but everyone called him "Twinky" for some unknown reason. "Hey lay off the Undead. Not my fault that we come back to life looking worse for wear." He stated jokingly, but then his face turn serious. "But, seriously, you look like Yogg-Saron himself had come to personally give you a thrashing." She looked at him tiredly. "I've been dealing with a lot of stuff since this Tournament started." Twinky nodded. "I know. Azidan's concerned, he's not sure you're going to make it through this tournament." Liselitha smiled. "I'll make it through." Twinky patted her shoulder. "Anyway, I've got to get going, the Alliance are pushing in Wintergrasp again and I know that I'll be need there." He made his way out of the Pavilion, leaving her awake and sore from yesterday. She sighed then resigned herself to the day's errand. She would need to talk to Chromie, the current ambassador of the bronze dragonflight to the Dragon Queen's court and former friend. Chromie could warp time and could in fact change history if she so chose, but those cases in and of themselves were rare.

Liselitha grabbed her gear and made ready for the flight, pausing at the sight of the dagger in her sheild. She knew this dagger. They had been a set of three, one given to Varian Wrynn during his childhood stay in Lordaeron, the other to Arthas, and the other... She pulled out the dagger that she kept under her pillow. While Varian's was well worn with use, hers still gleamed with care. She could see that the gold gilding that marked her as the maker was gone. _Damn him_. She thought heatedly. She had every right to redo her mark on the hilt. But would she sink as low as to remind him of who exactly she was? No. She would return it, that would be reminder enough. She walked over to the opposing pavilion and handed the dagger to the guard, "Please see that this is returned to His Majesty." Then, she turned land left two very confused High Elf guards.

Liselitha reached the edge of the Tournament Grounds and whistled sharply for her Netherwing Drake. She watched as her drake wheeled around in the air providing a show for her. She looked at him sternly and he promptly landed. She patted him then mounted. Directing him to Wyrmrest Temple, She thought back on the events of last night. Apparently, there was going to be combat between the two factions champions. This wasn't going to be easy, not that the past two nights had been easy, but facing hardened champions of the Alliance? She sighed, _Damn Sylvannas for not keeping a tighter reign on her people. Now we have two hot heads that are just dying to go at it until one is dead._ She had been furious at the Wrathgate. Now there was no hope of allying the Alliance and the Horde for the betterment of Azeroth. They were gliding over the Dragon Wastes now and she could see Wyrmrest Temple in the distance. The spire of white stone and gold glimmered in the distance, while the children of the blue dragonflight attacked it's defenders. She drew her drake up to the top floor of the Temple and landed her drake on the landing. "Liselitha, It has been a while, child." Alexstrasza, the Dragon Queen, greeted her. She bowed politely back to the great dragon. "Yes it has, my Queen. I apologize for the lack of notice, however I require a word with Chromie." The Queen nodded and Chromie stepped forward. "Come with me, Liselitha. I know what you require." Liselitha nodded her thanks and followed the Dragon in her diminutive form.

"I still don't understand your preference for the form of a gnome, Chromie." Liselitha teased. "It puts people off balance when I transform into my dragon form." Liselitha chuckled at the Dragon. Chromie lead Liselitha to the office that she used while staying in Wyrmrest Temple. "Liselitha, I don't know where to begin. Your help in Andorhal, Darrowshire, and The Bronze Sanctuary have built up a great debt. But I don't know if what you seek is there." Liselitha then sighed. "Chromie, I need to look at the events that I don't remember. All I remember right after the fall of Quel'Thalas is massive amounts of pain." Chromie nodded. "Let's start with something that we know you remember. We can't change the events, the Titans know the infinite dragonflight have been trying. But I've recruited heroes to help deal with them." Liselitha nodded in understanding. "The Culling." "The Culling." Chromie repeated direly. She took Liselitha's hand, and one minute they were in the office, the next they were in the basement of a countryside inn. Unknown to her, the Dragon next to her felt there was something off about this particular event.

Liselitha looked around. Then there was an angry voice from upstairs. "Hey! Get outta my basement! Don't you know there's a food scare on? I can't have weird people hanging around my storage!" Liselitha and Chromie walked up stairs and Liselitha nearly fainted at the sight of her in a mirror. "You can't be seen with Green glowing eyes, you'll be killed on sight. Plus, you'll be recognized." She looked down at the dragon. "Chromie, I don't think I can do this." Chromie patted her encouragingly. "Yes, you can. Just remember, you can't change the past here or you'll alter your future." Liselitha was very tempted though. "Come or we'll miss what this place has to teach us." Liselitha swallowed her trepidation and followed. Before too long they were in front of the gates of Stratholme. Arthas was there, whole and untainted, waiting for the report from the officer he had sent in. Then she heard hooves on the cobble road. She nearly went to tears at the sight of her old mentor, Uther. And behind him, she recognized herself. The Liselitha of the past held herself up with the proud bearing of the Quel'Dorei, a powerful Paladin, and a servant to the Light. She turned away quickly as her past counterpart looked in her direction. Chromie patted her to remind her to pay attention. "Glad you could make it, Uther." She listened as the conversation carried on. "Watch your tone with me, boy! You may be the prince, but I'm still your superior as a paladin!"

"As if I could forget. Listen Uther, There's something about the plague that you should know..." He was interrupted by the officer he had sent in to Stratholme to assess the situation. "Oh no, These people have all been infected! They may look fine now, but soon they will turn into the undead!" Shock crossed Uther's face. "What?" Arthas then turned back to Uther with a grim look on his face "This entire city must be purged." Uther was completely taken aback. "How can you even consider that? There's got to be some other way."

"Damn it, Uther. As your future king, I order you to purge this city."

"You are not my king yet, boy. Nor would I obey that command if you were!"

"Then I must consider this an act of treason." A gasp echoed through the crowd.

"Treason? Have you lost your mind, Arthas?"

"Have I? Lord Uther, by my right of succession and sovereignity of my crown, I hereby relieve you from your command and suspend your paladins from service." She felt the tears sting in her eyes and felt Chromie's hand pat her gently. She watched as she saw her past-self bow her head in submission to the head mage of the contingent of High Elves. She would do this, for the safety of her people, she would go through with genocide.

" Arthas, you can't just..." Jaina tried and failed.

"It's done! Those of you who have the will to save this land, follow me. The rest of you... get out of my sight." Uther shook his head in sadness "You've just crossed a terrible threshold, Arthas." Arthas turned from him and looked at Jaina. "Jaina?" She turned away from him too. "I'm sorry, Arthas. I can't watch you do this." Liselitha watched as her past self broke the ranks of the now discharged Paladins. "Liselitha, where are you going?" Liselitha watch as a wave of pain washed over her past self's face. "I'm under orders, Uther. I'm to help stop this plague from spreading into our lands. I do this not because I want to, but because I have to. But Uther, I believe I will need to confess after this." She watched as Uther looked at her with understanding. "And I will be there to listen to them, Liselitha."

They followed as Arthas entered the town. An air of cold determination radiated off of him and immersed those that followed his orders. He turned and looked at her past self with eery eyes. "I knew you wouldn't abandon me, Lis. When this is over, I will make you my queen, and we will rule Lordaeron for a long time." The "human" her felt sick to her stomach as she heard that. Apparently she had wanted to forget that particular detail. But she listened as her past self replied. "Arthas, I can not join you as your queen." Arthas placed a hand on her shoulder, and the other under her chin to lift it. "Then I shall just have to find a way to make me immortal, won't I?" Liselitha looked at him. "Arthas, please..." Her past self faltered, and Arthas dipped his head and kissed her. "Lis, don't abandon me now. This has to be done." Liselitha watched as her past self nodded. "Permission to go ahead of you, My Lord." Arthas looked shocked, then his look softened. "Of course."

Chromie and the "human" Liselitha followed as the high elf ran down the street. "Chromie I don't remember that particular scene. I'm not really sure I wanted to." Chromie nodded grimly. "You'll find out more about yourself here than anywhere else, Liselitha." They paused as Liselitha's past self entered a building. "An Orphanage." Liselitha commented. "This I do remember. I went immediately to the area that would have the most children. I spoke to the matron of the orphanage and told her of the dire circumstances. She agreed that there was little time. They had yet to sit and eat their morning meal and it was promptly thrown in the fire." An evil green glow accentuated one of the windows, for dramatic affect. "I asked if they knew a back way out of the town and handed the matron my paladin's token. I instructed her to take the children quickly out of the servants entrance before it became blocked, and find Lord Uther." The door opened and the high elf paladin of the past stepped out and warily checked the streets. She waved for the matron and children to quickly make for said entrance. The matron paused and spoke quietly. Liselitha watched herself nod, then there was a scream and she watched as terrified citizens entered the square. Her past self pushed the matron away and sent her running to catch up with her children and assistants. She then began slaughtering citizens left and right in a show of outward obedience.

In the alleyway, behind the carnage, the Liselitha of the present was bent over double as the contents of her stomach emptied. "I damn myself everyday for taking part of this, and then I willingly go and look back on it. I must be insane." Chromie patted her back. They had watched the town be raised and nearly every citizen killed. "We all make mistakes, Lisel. Yours was following an order almost blindly. Though you'll be glad to know that none of those children nor the matron had been infected and went with Jaina to Theramore." Liselitha nodded. "Thank the Light for small miracles. I never knew Chromie." Chromie nodded. "Come, there is more to learn." Liselitha nodded and let the dragon lead her from the alley. Smoke rose as the city burned, Liselitha felt her heart clench at the corpses of the villagers laying side by side with the slain undead. As they turned the corner, she watched as Arthas paced back and forth furiously. Her past self appeared covered in blood and soot. Arthas looked up as she approached. "Lis, I knew you'd come. But then you'd always come for me." The crude innuendo made her current self even more sick. "Arthas, there is still work to be done, many of those that you ordered killed were innocent and deserve their last rights. I cannot stay for long." Arthas frowned at that. "The priests can give them their last rights. I need you to come with me to Northrend." The shocked look that passed over her face was quickly covered by her serene mask. "I can't, Arthas. After I am through here, I must report to Silvermoon." The look that crossed his face was one of anger. "First Uther and Jaina, now you. I am only trying to protect my people." The declaration troubled Liselitha. "Arthas, I cannot go to Northrend because I have my own duties to attend to. You forget that I am not just a human paladin who answers only to Lord Uther. I also am a High Elf enlisted in the royal guard. I am trying to protect my people as well, and part of my duty is to answer back to my superiors in Quel'Thalas." The high elf turned away. "I loved you at one time, Arthas. I would see no harm come to you, but know that I will defend Silvermoon with my last breath, and I would kill you if I ever thought you were a threat as well." With that she left the Prince on the crumbling wall as the city burned around him.

Chromie sped time up to three days after the Culling. It was different, the smell of burning corpses filled the air. Jaina walked back and forth, pacing, occasionally looking at the pyres of bodies. "So much death... I can't believe Arthas could've done this." Heavy plate on stone turned Liselitha's attention away to the approaching paladin. "Jaina! Jaina Proudmoore!" Jaina turned around in shock. "Lord Uther?" Uther surveyed the damage to the town and the bodies that were burning. "Ah, Jaina. I thought I might find you here. Where has he gone, girl? Where has Arthas taken the fleet?" Jaina sighed. "He came to me before he left, I pleaded with him not to go. I told him it sounded like a trap!" The urgancy in Uther's voice was tangable "Where?" Jaina sighed again. "Northrend. He's gone to Northrend to hunt Mal'Ganis." Uther smashed his fist in his palm. "Damn that boy! I've got to inform King Terenas. Don't be too hard on yourself, girl. You had nothing to do with this... slaughter."

"But I did." The high elf was carrying a child, no more than twelve summers, in her arms. "Liselitha, I thought you would have returned to Silvermoon." The high elf shook her head sadly. "I couldn't, not until..." A weak sob escaped her. Uther took the child from her and carefully laid him on the pyre. Then placed both of his hands on either of her shoulders. "You were under more strict orders than I was. You were under the direct orders of your people and you have a family that would have been exiled had you disobeyed. I do not blame you, Liselitha Sunweaver. And the fact that you show remorse this deeply tells me that the Light is stronger in you than ever." He looked at both of them. "Now Ladies, if you will excuse me. I must report to Terenas before Arthas gets in too deep." With a bow he left them. A raven then landed before them. And Materialized into the Prophet "The dead in this land might lie still for the time being, but don't be fooled. Your young prince will find only death in the cold north." Jaina turned on him suddenly. "You! Arthas is only doing what he believes is right!" The prophet waved the comment away. "Commendable as that may be, his passions will be his undoing. It falls to you now, young sorceress. You must lead your people to the west to the ancient lands of Kalimdor. Only there can you combat the shadow and save this world from the flame." And with the dire warning floating in the air, he took wing, leaving them once more.

"Jaina," The paladin motioned for the mage to follow her. "I would take this man's warning to heart. I must go and make my report to Silvermoon. In the meantime, try and gather as many of the survivors as you can. I know that some of them may be hiding in the countryside. I will try and send any High Elves that will listen to me. Though the King may be...Loathe to return to our 'homeland'" The mage turned to the Paladin. "Do you really think things are that bad, Liselitha?" The paladin nodded grimly. "I have a very bad feeling, Jaina. I cannot abandon Silvermoon and with Arthas acting so..." The paladin faltered. "It doesn't matter. The point is I have my duty to my people and you have yours. Good luck, Jaina Proudmoore. I pray the Light let us meet again." With that the paladin summoned her Charger and raced to a home that was caught in the middle of all this.

The past faded and they were once again sitting in Chromie's office.

**Author's note:** Read, Review, and Comment. Flames will be deleted, while constructive criticism is good to better my writing style.


	5. The Sound and The Fury

**Author's Note:** I am sorry to all A Tale Fans for the very very long delay. Real life and writer's block are the main causes, but I no longer have said writer's block and I should be updating again shortly as long as I keep up the writing. I'll be updating as long as I have one complete chapter ahead of the posted story. Anyway, ON WITH THE SHOW! I really really suck at battle scenes, and well I'm a healer in game I don't do a lot of fighting, I concentrate on keeping up those that do the fighting. So hence the reason for the very shortened and not all that epic PVP fight from ToC. Not that it's much of an epic fight anyway. Epic fights that will take chapters and chapters upon are coming, but not for a little while.

Liselitha, after making sure her eyes were fel green instead of blue, had quickly excused herself from Chromie's office and was now flying back to the Tournament grounds. It was nearly Sunset and the third challenge was about to begin. She landed near the entrance to the collesium, and noticed that nearly everyone was there. "You know, you keep this up and I think Azidan will have a heart attack." Game teased. He was a Tauren Hunter who no one could pronounce his full name, so they shortened it. They walked in to find things a bit different than when they had left. Ten members of the Alliance stood under their banner and they, in turn, were directed to the far wall where the Horde banner stood. The process of prayers, blessings, and feasting began anew and Liselitha felt herself well with power. Ten champions, one for each of them. She looked up to where Tirion Fordring stood observing, then over to the two faction leaders. Both Varian and Garrosh had the look of battle lust in their eyes, while Thrall and Jaina had their faces covered with their palms. Tirion then addressed the assembled crews of both Alliance and Horde. "Champions, there has been a challenge of honor issued between the Alliance and the Horde. Though I do not agree with this, it is to the death. You will battle until ten remain, and those ten will continue on in the tournament." Outrage echoed on both sides, this was not in the details of the tournament. "Enough, my ruling is final! Ten heroes are needed to proceed to Icecrown Citadel, though twenty would be better." Varian growled.. "Tirion." Tirion then faced the ruler of Stormwind. "King Wrynn, you issued this challenge and I allowed it on the condition that my ruling would be met. Champions, prepare yourselves."

Azidan gathered them around. "I know that this is going to be hard, but we will see that we survive and they don't." They all nodded. "So, Lis, you and Tristan will be in the back, make sure your consecration is down to impede any rogues that come your way. Tristan, I want your earthbind totem down too, just in case. Whatever you two do, don't engage any of them, we want you two to live." Liselitha laughed, "What you don't trust Alliance healers?" Azidan looked over at her completely serious, "No, I don't." She nodded. They heard the herald walk over to them. "Are you ready?" Azidan nodded. "As ready as we'll ever be." The herald nodded and reported back to Tirion Fordring that both sides were prepared. A horn was sounded, initiating the beginning of the match. It was a blur of confusion, both her and Tristan firing off healing spells to keep their comrades alive. She watched as her friends battled. Azidan firing spells at a Death Knight that was protecting the Alliance healers. Game had set his pet on a rogue and was firing rapidly. But others weren't so lucky. A Troll shadow priest was being persued by an alliance pet, and in the end was cut down. What was worse, she continued her focus on Vindicator, channeling all her energy into keeping him alive, that she felt his life rip from her grasp as both a warrior and an opposing paladin killed him. In the end, four of their comrades fell. Above them they heard the declaration from Garrosh. "That is just a taste of what the future brings. FOR THE HORDE!" But as Liselitha cradled the head of one of her companions in her lap, she felt empty and hollow inside. "A shallow and tragic victory. We are weaker as a whole from the losses suffered today. Who but the Lich King could benefit from such foolishness? Great warriors have lost their lives. And for what? The true threat looms ahead - the Lich King awaits us all in death." She couldn't agree more with Tirion's words. With remorse, she allowed the Troll priest that she had been crying over to be lifted from her and carried back to the pavilion, where she would be embalmed and laid to rest in the tournament graveyard.

She gathered herself up and made her way over to the exit. She was empty, cold inside. She had been witness to a massacre once again and couldn't stop it. She heard arguing voices outside and felt the heat of anger lick her from the inside out. Her friends and fellow warriors were dead and they still fought! Her mind broke and she dropped her mace and shield and summoned an older, yet still very powerful weapon, An're, the polearm her father had forged when she passed the first of her paladin training tests. The weight of the polearm brought back training she though lost. With a calm she didn't feel, she strode over to where the warmongers fought. Twirling the blade in her hands, she used the butt of the pole to attack the first male she came into contact with. Human, Orc, it didn't matter anymore. In her mind the two responsible for this offense would either yield and begin acting like diplomats, or die by her blade. The stunned silence lasted for almost a whole minute before the two men began attacking together. Dodge, block, parry, thrust, reposte, jump, duck, her body was in full motion fighting them two on one. She felt the blade bite flesh and pushed the blade deeper, then twisted it sideways and tore it out the side of the one she had wounded. That was one, but the other was cunning, he moved too close faster than she anticipated. She raised the center of the pole and blocked the strike. He bared down all his weight and a contest of wills erupted between the two. The Human was one that she knew, one that she had at one time respected, but no longer. She pushed him back and broke the hold he had on her. Planting the end of the pole into the ground she swung around and kicked him, knocking him back further. Swinging the blade up in a deadly arch, she caught the man in the leg. Roaring in pain, he rushed her again, knocking her to the ground. He pulled his dagger, and rested the blade against her neck as raw hatred for him engulfed her being. Suddenly his weight was off of her and she was pulled into an up right stance facing a very angry Tirion Fordring.

/

"You three have caused me nothing but a headache the last week. And for what! This kind of behavior I expected from you Garrosh, even you Varian. But, you, Liselitha Sunweaver, never in a thousand years would I have expected that display from anyone who had been a direct pupil of Uther the Lightbringer, the exception of course being Arthas." Liselitha scowled at Tirion at the mention of her former training partner. "I am half tempted to pull you from the tournament. However that is not an option at this point, thanks to you two!" She watched as Tirion cast a hard eye on Garrosh and Varian then turned to Thrall and Jaina who had been standing in the back, watching the confrontation. "Warchief Thrall, I release Garrosh and Liselitha back into your custody. King Wrynn you are free to go, I have no right to hold you, but note that the next time you provoke an attack from the Horde, you will be banned from the tournament grounds permanently." Jaina gave King Wrynn a hard look. "And I will have to re-evaluate Theremore's position on openly rejoining the Alliance." With that they both left, Jaina fuming and Varian doing his best to plead with her. Thrall motioned for them to follow him as he left the pavilion.

As soon as they reached the horde side of the tournament grounds, Thrall let his full ire show. "It grieves me that soldiers under my command would allow their passions to control them." Though Garrosh had been wise enough to hold his tongue in front of the paladin, he did not stay silent in front of Thrall. "This woman has shown repeatedly that she intends to cause me harm. Including tonight!" Garrosh made a show of his roughly bandaged side. "Garrosh, anyone who can give you and King Varian the thrashing you received tonight is worthy of respect. But at what cost?' His blue eyes turned to Liselitha. "Warchief, I will apologize to you for my presumption and my actions towards King Varian, in so far that those actions have further hurt relations between the Alliance and the Horde. But I will not sit idly by as warmongers disgrace the memories of the dead." Unwillingly her eyes turned to where Vindicator and the others were now laid to rest. She turned away and sighed. "They deserve at least one night of peace." A quiver passed over her body. "Am I dismissed, Warchief?" She heard him sigh and grant her request. She walked away, up the hill where those that had lost their lives in this desolate land had been buried. Once more she would say good bye those that had fought beside her for so long.

/

She plodded through the high snow back to the Sunreaver Pavilion. She had gone through the motions of saying the last rights of those that had fallen. She felt the presence of someone behind her. She bent down as if to adjust her boot and slid her dagger from it's sheathe. She quickly spun on the spot and almost let fly with the dagger, until Sylvannas Windrunner stepped from the shadows. "You're almost as good as I remember. Well met, Liseiltha Sunweaver." Standing, Liselitha composed her face into a neutral facade. "Sylvannas. To what do I owe the fortune of speaking with the Dark Lady?" Sylvannas closed the gap between them. "I have need of your skills, paladin. Tirion has tasked myself and Jaina Proudmoore with a reconnaissance mission and both of us agree on one thing, we need you." Liselitha began making her way back to the Sunreaver Pavilion. "How many are you to lead on this mission?" Sylvannas grimaced. "Six in total. Though because you are mostly neutral when it comes to these matters, there is some debate on whether or not to count you out of the Horde's number or not." Liselitha paused and studied the Banshee Queen. Her sister's teacher had changed much, there was none of the former Ranger-General that hadn't been twisted and warped. "Who else have you chosen for the Horde side?" Sylvannas grimaced. "Two that I believe you know, Robert Golden and Valhallen Noonshimmer." Liselitha nodded in acknowledgment. Valhallen had been her comrade at one point in Northrend, particularly during the siege of Naxxramas. "They are both good choices. And the Alliance?" Sylvannas sneered. "Jaina has assured me that there is at least one priest who will be willing to work with us. I hope you don't have a problem with Night Elves." Liselitha grimaced. She was not particularly fond of the Kaldorei, too much bad blood. And while she didn't hold any personal grudges against any one particular person of that race, she still would rather avoid any potential situation that may arise. "As long as said Night Elves pull their weight while we are on this mission, I have no qualms about working with them." Sylvannas nodded. "Tomorrow night is the last night of the tournament, a week from then we shall sit with the rest of the company and discuss our mission details." Liselitha nodded in return and made her way into the dark pavilion and over to her bunk. She removed the outer pieces of her armor and let them fall to the floor, too tired to place them in the proper rack. Collapsing on the bed, she passed into unconsciousness.

/

Word had come from Vereesa Windrunner, King Terenas was dead. Killed by the hand of his own beloved son. Liselitha paced the hall that led into the Sunfury Spire where King Anasterian held court. "You know pacing isn't going to make them decide any faster." Liselitha stopped and looked over to where Laur'eal sat watching her. "It has been six months, Laur'eal. I've given my findings and my reports to every damn magister that they have pulled up here. There is an urgency within the Light, I can feel it." Laur'eal nodded. "I don't know about this Light, but I do know that the news of King Terenas has shaken them up quite a bit." Liselitha was growing frustrated. "Any word from Nathanos?" Laur'eal shook her head sadly. "For all I know he could have fallen when Arthas killed the human king." Liselitha nodded and returned to her pacing. Suddenly, there was a wrenching in her heart, as if someone was trying to pull it from her chest with their bare hands. She fell to her knees and felt her sister kneel next to her. "Lis! What's wrong?" Laur'eal sounded panicked. "Uther...Uther is...dead." Liselitha's saw within her mind exactly what had happened, heard his voice arguing with Arthas. "Your father ruled this land for seventy years, and you've ground it to dust in a matter of days." It was Uther. The malice that echoed in Arthas' voice haunted her mind, "Very dramatic, Uther. Give me the urn, and I'll make sure you die quickly." She saw Uther's stance harden. "The urn holds your father's ashes, Arthas! What, were you hoping to piss on them one last time before you left his kingdom to rot?" Arthas laughed, "I didn't know what it held. Nor does it matter. I'll take what I came for one way or another." The duel played out in her mind until she saw that Arthas had defeated Uther. She screamed in denial. Then Uther's last words whispered in her head, "I dearly hope that there's a special place in hell waiting for you, Arthas." And Arthas' retort, "We may never know, Uther. I intend to live forever." When she looked up, she was surrounded by the royal court, apparently her scream had alerted them. "My king, we must prepare for battle. Uther has been slain, and now Arthas marches for Quel'thalas."

**Author's note: Seems my pally has a bit of a temper. :D Read, review, and constructive criticism plox! No flames, they will be ignore and deleted**


	6. The Scars of Betrayal

**Author's Note: **Hurray for not needing to play as often! With the launch of Cata, I've been EXTREMELY busy with guild oriented stuff. but I am back. Hopefully, for a good while before Firelands is released. Now, onto a chapter...not quite like the others...where we find out exactly why Liselitha hate Varian Wrynn and the Alliance.

The darkness that permeated the tent suffocated her. She quickly rose and ran out into the cold predawn air. Every time a friend was lost she was forced to remember that fateful day in the Sunfury Spire and the events that happened shortly afterward. Uther's words once more whispered within her mind, _I dearly hope there is a special place in hell waiting for you, Arthas._ She did too and she prayed that she would be the one to dispatch him to that dark oblivion. "For someone who used to love him, you sure do wish him a lot of pain." Liselitha looked over to find Chromie stepping out of the shadows. "I believe that is one reason why I wish him harm. The others would be murder and betrayal." The bronze dragon chuckled. "I don't think you can face him until you've settled the mystery about your missing memories." A flash of pain made Liselitha wince and Chromie nod. "I've been watching your dreams carefully since we last spoke. Are they always so linear?" Liselitha looked over at the Gnome. She hadn't thought about the way she had been dreaming, just that she was. But now that she did, the thought disturbed her. "No, actually. Usually they are portions of memories, for the most part nightmares. I don't think even Confessor Paletress could remove such powerful nightmares, and I have faced her many times in the Crusader ring." The time dragon seemed to take this into account. "I believe that whoever sealed your memories about when you succumbed to the arcane thirst was preparing you for what is soon to be revealed." Liselitha looked down at the Gnome concerned. "You mean to tell me that there may be more to this than we thought?" Chromie nodded. "It would actually make sense to have you remember certain details you had forgotten before the truth being revealed. Tell me, go back as early as you can recall your dreams, what you remember about that time?"

Liselitha frowned as she concentrated. If Chromie was right and the dreams were linear, they would have had to start at some point in her life. She thought back to the last week, looking through the dreams that were still so clear in her mind. Each of them pin pointed one event in her life that either directly or remotely connected her with Arthas. Thinking of the dream she had when the Warchief first confronted her about her past, she looked more closely at it. It was incomplete, only the aspects of her rivalry with Arthas seemed to be highlighted. Passing that dream over, she looked closely at the dream she had before leaving Dalaran for the tournament. There were elements missing from that dream as well, but it was still fresh in her mind. When she tried to remember the dream of the night before that, she couldn't. "I believe the first dream I had that started this sequence was the night before I arrived at the tournament." Chromie nodded. "What was the dream about?" Thinking back to the images of the dream, there were several details missing. "It was about when I first met Uther. But there were details missing." Again, the Gnome nodded. "Do you remember the actual events?" Liselitha nodded and thought back to that day, so many, many years ago. She had been very nervous, more than she should have been. While her family was one of the few in Quel'dorei society that would turn to the humans for help, humans were still viewed as clumsy and of lower quality. As her family was by no means rich enough to afford a mage to teleport them to Capital City nor could their parents afford to be missing from their duties for the two weeks it would take them to reach Capital City and return, Uther had agreed to come and analyze Liselitha's skills in Silvermoon City. Sylvannas also decided to do her assessment of Laur'eal at the same time. Her father had gone to the Sunfury spire to collect their guests and her mother was making enough breakfast to feed an entire squadron of rangers. And while these scenes were identical to the dream, there just was something that had been missing from the dream. She thought back to the dream up till this point and it suddenly hit her, the dream had been missing her Sunwell ring. Though at this particular time it was just her family's crest on a simple band identifying which family she belonged to, it had been blessed in the sacred waters of the Sunwell just before her departure to Capital City.

Looking over at Chromie and then down to her hand, the ring had been missing for quite sometime, since Arthas had taken it. "Before Arthas destroyed the Sunwell, I wore a ring that my parents requested blessed by the Sunwell as I trained with Uther." The bronze dragon looked up at her. "Do you remember what happened to it?" She explained to the gnome-guised Dragon that the dream she had just woken from had been the precursor to Arthas' invasion of Quel'Thalas.

_Flashback_

She had been at the front with Sylvannas, Lor'themar, Halduron, and Laur'eal as the undead attacked the camp. She fought him, she knew his weaknesses from hours upon hours of training. But little did she know then, as she did now, that those weaknesses were no longer to be counted on. He now had Frostmourne guiding him, teaching him, making him more powerful. Finally, he overcame her and sent her sprawling with a sizable gash across her midsection. As she lay dying, she watched as he and his undead Scourge ransacked the camp. She sensed two sneaking away from the camp, Lor'themar and Halduron, she used the last of her strength to shield them from any enemies that may be following them. So much death surrounded her, but the one that hurt most was when she actually felt her sister die.

Then, he stood over her, that smirk plastered on his face mocking her. "I will not allow you to die, I will not allow you to know peace. Neither will I turn you into another servant with conscientiousness, or have you walk among the dead who blindly serve me." That was when he reached down and removed her ring. "I will leave you in more agonizing pain than any known or unknown torture could bring. I will allow you to live and to know that you have failed. That even those that you _love_ serve me blindly and unquestioningly." He waved a hand and two of the undead moved forward. The first was a banshee, one of many that she had seen and then later would have banished. It was only when the hatred of the miserable creature for it's master reached her that she knew who it was. _Oh please, for the love of the Light, let Laur'eal have been spared._ Then, the other stepped forward and Liselitha let out a strangled cry of pure agony. Before her stood as twisted a visage of her sister as Arthas himself was: a Death Knight. Still dressed in her ranger's uniform, Laur'eal looked down at her sister with no pity, remorse, love, or even that she had a shred of knowledge of who Liselitha was. As she screamed for her sister to remember who she was, Arthas laughed. She screamed until the blood loss came to be too much and she passed out.

_End Flashback_

"After that point I only remember an agonizing amount of pain, and short periods of time where I dazed in and out of consciousness." Liselitha finished. Chromie nodded, but once more there was an element missing from the elf's tale. "Tell me of your other dreams, are there elements missing in them as well?" Liselitha nodded. "But they are so subtle, that until you pointed it out, I didn't even notice." The gnome frowned. She had looked over the life of the elf again and again to find the missing portion. The only thing that bothered her was the blank spot in both her life and her memory. Obviously something or someone as powerful as the titans had taken an interest in the paladin. Whether it was for good or for ill remained to be seen. There was one more detail that remained elusive and shadowed. It may be that those missing elements were hidden from her. But how? And more importantly, why? "Let's skip the part you don't remember and move to afterwards. What happened when you woke up?" Liselitha frowned as she thought. "Let's see, from what I remember, I had been in and out of an addiction coma for several months. By that time, Garithos had betrayed us and had forced Prince Kael'thas's hand into accepting help from the Naga, had been caught and held prisoner for treason, freed by Vashj and her Naga, struck the deal with Illidan, gone to Northrend with his new master, assaulted the Frozen Throne, was defeated, and had fled with Illidan to Outland. Apparently, from what the priests told me, even in my dazed consciousness I had refused to drink the Fel Blood or accept the oath that Kael'thas had taken on our behalf. However when I awoke, apparently my personal preferences were no longer an issue. I awoke with the same Fel green eyes as everyone else that had remained. After I had awoken, I had been requested to attend the council that ruled in Keal'thas' stead. You see, at that time there was still much debate on where our loyalties should lie that were in the best interests of our people."

_Flashback_

She sat astride her charger, the same one that she had first summoned when Uther had first proclaimed her a paladin. Subconsciously, she fingered the paladin insignia that he had also given her. The gates of Stormwind were broad and imposing and the guards stood at full attention. She double checked the letter of appeal and insignia of Silvermoon. The Blood Elves were reluctant to ask for aid from their old allies after what had happened between Grand Marshall Garithos and Prince Keal'thas, but they were more distrusting of this new Horde, even though it was backed by Sylvannas Windrunner, former Ranger General of Quel'Thalas, now Banshee Queen of the Forsaken. Liselitha had been sent as an ambassador to hopefully re-establish ties and regain their former allies trust. Securing her bag more tightly she prayed to the Light that this would go well and that Varian would listen to his old friend. She pulled a white handkerchief from her tunic and held it high in the air as she approached the city and hopefully a successful mission.

To say that her mission had been unsuccessful would have been a gross understatement. While the guards at the gate had not looked all that closely at her, the city marshal certainly did and immediately had the paladin arrested on war crimes. Her armor and weapons stripped, all of her valuables taken, including her paladin emblem, she was thrown nearly naked into the Stockades, the dungeon that resided along the Stormwind canals. But they were not done with her, kept in complete darkness, she did not know the time of day or even how long she had been kept in the dungeons, until she was dragged before Varian. For his part, Varian looked like he didn't even recognize her. The King of Stormwind looked down at her from his throne. "You have commited great crimes, Liselitha Sunweaver, if that is who you wish to impersonate. The first being your either theft or forgery of the paladin insignia we found on your person. How do you answer?" Straightening as best she could, Liselitha looked up at Varian. "That you were there when I received it from Uther the Lightbringer's hand himself when Arthas and I both become Knights of the Silverhand." She was back handed. "I do not appreciate your lies woman." She spat the gathering blood from her mouth over to the side. "It is no lie, Varian," She was slapped once more. "You will address King Wrynn as either King Wrynn or Your Majesty." Glaring at the guard who hit her she turned back to Varian who looked enraged. "Very well, Your Majesty, but I can prove it. We were friends the three of us, and to show that friendship I forged three daggers, one for each of us, that we would never forget where our true loyalties lie. I hold mine still and should have been among my belongings." She was punched once more and thrown to the side. Varian descended his throne and picked her head off the floor. "The reason I know you are lying is because Liselitha Sunweaver is dead. Liselitha Sunweaver was a devout paladin whose only fault was her unfaltering love of her people. However, never in a million years would she have drank the Fel blood of a demon in order to maintain an addiction. She died the instant she walked into my city as one of the traitor elves." He tossed her away and nodded to the guards. "Find out what she knows about their plans, then execute her."

She shivered on the cold floor of her cell as her back burned with welts from the lashes of a whip, this was only the first of many horrors. Hot pokers on her skin, in her skin, and even into the parts of her that no man other than Arthas had known. Her fingernails and toenails ripped from the roots, delicate and artful cuts designed not to kill but to torture. Surely, this was the hell that betrayers who abandoned the Light would be forced to endure, she had never betrayed it so why did it punish her? Bloody and ragged skin nearly falling off on it's own, she knew that she would die from the torture rather than betray her people. Only in the quiet of her cell, when they brought her back from the hell pit, did she even get a respite from her agony. Uther was there, in her dreams and in her mind. They walked through the gardens of Castle Lordaeron, remembering the cool feel of spring in the air and the heady scents of the roses in bloom. _Please let this be the reality. Please let everything from the last year be a very weird nightmare that I'm telling Uther about._ But she never heard herself speak, only Uther repeating an old lesson that she had thought lost long ago. "You'll find that betrayal will leave deeper scars than those of any battlefield." And she was reminded of this every day as those words began echoing even through the torture. They became a mantra, a focal point, and a guiding strength that, though she screamed and cried in pain, she never talked. But the betrayer was never the Light, it was the Light who brought Uther back to her mind, that fed her the strength to with stand the torturer's whips, heat, and abuse.

One day they brought her back to her cell, she felt more cold, tired, hungry, and hurt than ever before. She knew her time was near and even felt the warmth of the Light as if it were the sun itself raining down on her. And then, a noise. She tensed. She didn't know how long they usually left her in her stupor, but it wasn't ever this short. Though extremely fatigued she had been awake when the cell door had closed and the guards walked away. Again a noise, the sound of a lock being undone. And her cell opened. It didn't matter if the intruder was a friend or a foe, she didn't have much time left. But whoever it was cursed loudly and profusely in Thalasian. "God damned humans," The invisible male said. "I knew we couldn't trust them, can't pull their heads out of their asses long enough to uncover their eyes from the shit." She knew that voice. "Aeronath...?" She asked weakly, before her a Blood Elf rogue with long black hair, fel green eyes, and dressed in all black appeared from thin air. "Oh good god you're still alive? How can you-" The Blood elf rogue stopped abruptly. "No time for questions, Lisel. This is a rescue mission. Though I don't think we'd expected to have to carry you out." She laughed softly, then roughly coughed spitting up blood. "Aeronath, I'm sorry to have wasted your time, but-" The rogue put a finger to her lips, "If you were going to say to leave you here cause you think your close to dying, it ain't happening." She knew arguing was pointless. Her cousin was tenacious and stubborn, an unlikely but complimenting trait for his chosen career path.

He checked a mechanized timepiece that he had built while an apprentice engineer. "They're late." He stated right before a portal appeared in her cell. Two more people joined her and Aeronath in her cell. One looked at her and cursed just as profusely as Aeronath had, while the other was debating with Aeronath on how they were going to get her back to Silvermoon alive. "Why didn't we think to bring a priest?" One, clearly the mage, asked. "Because our source said that it was unlikely that they would torture her to this extent, being that King Wrynn is familiar with her." A Hunter in the garbs of a ranger answered. The mage sighed clearly frustrated. "How could this have happened? She is a tried and true paladin we were told, she should have been able to heal herself." Liselitha laughed weakly once again. "Once again, Silvermoon's finest is completely ignorant of the ways of the paladin." The mage stared down at her coldly daring her to continue. "Forgive me, my friend. I'm afraid my closeness with death it appears has made me sharp of tongue." She coughed blood pouring out the side of her mouth. "It takes more of my energy to heal than many think. They believe that the Light is ours to command and to demand it's blessing, but that is not so." She wheezed while she took a breath. "The Light gives us strength and energy where we need it most. It was more important that I actually survive my torture sessions than to heal my wounds from them. Trust me, without that Light I would have caved when the first lash fell." She fell silent as they looked down at her. The mage nodded. "Well, Aeronath pick up our esteemed paladin as carefully as possible, Seles stand guard as I reopen the portal to the row boat."

She didn't know how they made it but they did, rowing down the coast till they were well out of the city the mage once more teleported them back to Silvermoon City, where the days blurred together in pain and healing.

_End Flashback_

Chromie, who had listened intently, had seen the events in her mind's eye, though once more there was a slight missing element. Other than that, the paladin's memory of the past was impeccable. So why that one blank spot? Liselitha looked down at the gnome once more. "You think there's more to this don't you?" Chromie nodded. "While throughout your memories there is a constant haze over one particular detail, this one blank spot is closed off even from me. I already have an inkling of what that minor detail missing would be, but I don't think it wise to tell you yet, just in case Arthas tries to use it against you." Liselitha nodded her head in agreement. Unlike most, she bowed to the wisdom of the Bronze Dragon a good portion of the time. "However, you are still confused about that one event that is blocked." It was Chromie's turn to nod. "Yes and I think that only by going there and seeing for ourselves what transpired will it reveal this mystery." By now the sun had fully risen and the tournament grounds began stirring with life. "Well, I believe that if we are to discover the meaning behind that missing portion we ought to get going." The gnome looked up at her and smiled. "You just don't want to deal with Tirion Fordring or the others right now." Liselitha laughed heartily. "Caught. But I believe that I should be prepared for whatever Arthas throws at me." The gnome nodded and then began to transform. The Bronze Dragon was enormous, nearly twice the wing span of her nether drake. She then heard Chromie's voice in her head overflowing with amusement _I told you I loved to see the shock on people's faces, you should see yours right now. _The Dragon's deep chuckle reverberated in her head. _Well climb on up. You know how to mount and ride a dragon._ Chromie lowered her head enough for Liselitha to mount onto her neck. Without a saddle though, it was going to be a bit uncomfortable. Liselitha settled herself in between the sharp spikes on the dragon's neck near the end of the neck, but not far enough back that her legs and feet would interfere with the dragon's flying. _Hold on tightly, Liselitha. Flying on the wings of a Bronze dragon is much different than your netherdrake. We won't just be flying through the air, but also space and time. _Chromie lifted her head and looked out towards the horizon. Somewhere in time, a High elf paladin was suffering from an addiction inherent in her people and yet still refused the Fel Magic substitute.

**Author's note:** And that is why, no matter how much I hate Garrosh, I will never switch over to the alliance. They're hiding way more devious things under all that "chivalry."


	7. The Past Remembered

**Author's note: **This chapter is once more rather short, but rather important as well. I would like to thank my one reviewer (Yay!) for the encouragement to continue on with this story. My paladin becomes more and more complex the more I write out her story. In so far as the actual writing is concerned I am finished with the tournament arc and beginning a rather stunning turn of events that I myself did not plan. Originally, when I first started writing this story, I had planned to do it much by way of the the style of Lord of the Rings. But the story is turning out much more so than that type of writing style would have allowed. So the title of my story is going to be changed and you're going to see some small edits in the first chapter's author's note. So we begin where we left off. With a time dragon and a Blood elf paladin, looking at the missing link for the first time...

6 years in the past...

Chromie and Liselitha watched as a priestess attended to her past self. She looked sallow and ill, hardly the paladin of the Light's retribution. They heard her stir and groan in pain; the priestess leaned over her in response. "My Lady," She whispered, "Once more you come out of your coma. Please, I beg of you, take the vow. Already those who would not suffer for their addiction and it has reduced them into what the others are calling The Wretched." They watched as a miracle happened and the High Elf Paladin opened her eyes and more taken aback when she answered the priestesses pleas. "I will not betray the Light by swearing myself into the service of a demon." The heavy breathing that punctuated those words told them of great pain. The priestess sighed in frustration. "You have too much yet to serve, from what I have heard about you, My Lady, your services will still be needed." The paladin chuckled weakly. "Priestess, you do not know who I am, do you?" At the shake of her head, Liselitha was grateful for that small miracle. "I have done my service." The Liselitha of the past coughed and then continued, "I will not damn myself because those who came before us loved to dabble in the arcane." The priestess now glared down at her charge. "What would have me do? Let you turn into one of those horrid monsters? There is no honor in that!" The Paladin looked up at the priest. "You could do what I've asked you several times to do." The priestesses eyes closed as if she had finally accepted some grave truth. "Alright I'll do it, but it is only because you request such, My Lady. Is there anyone you wish me to inform of your passing?" The Liselitha on the bed flinched as she thought. "Aeronath Lightstriker, my cousin. He is in apprenticeship at the Ravenholdt Manor." The priestess nodded as she wrote down the name. "Anyone else?" There was a slight ripple in the scene. So slight that unless you had to have been looking for it, you would not have noticed it. The bronze dragon's eyes widened a bit, yet the blood elf was oblivious as her past counter part shook her head in the negative. The priestess left the bedside and walked down the hall.

The paladin on the bed settled back into the lush cushions. Coughing racked her body and she shivered from an unknown cold. The priestess returned with a pot of tea. The acrid smell of poison permeated the air and Liselitha could only watch as the priestess held the past paladin's head up and tipped the contents into her mouth. "This is a fairly slow acting poison, My lady. In case you do change your mind." The Liselitha of the past chuckled at the priestess's concern for her backing out. "I will not, Priestess. But I thank you for your kindness. Please be sure that my cousin receives the notice of my passing." The priestess nodded and stood. "I will check on you in an hour, My Lady. May the eternal sun guide you." With that the priestess left the side of her charge. The Liselitha on the bed lay in serene repose and calm. More calm than either of the two watchers had seen her since they arrived. "I tried to commit suicide? It makes sense, but how is it I'm alive today?" The bronze shook her head. "Let's keep watching and we'll see." They watched for a while, the breathing of the paladin was still ragged, but she looked at peace. Then she took a shuddering breath, a smile on her face, and the paladin passed on. "Well I'm dead..." Someone or something stepped up behind them. "Not quite. Unconscious and having an interesting conversation with A'dal, but not dead."

Chromie and Liselitha turned as one to find, a human, and not just any human. Liselitha nearly lost herself in sorrow as she looked at a face she hadn't seen in seven years. "Lord Uther?" Uther smiled brightly at his former student. "At your service, Lady Sunweaver." Chromie was extremely confused, Uther shouldn't be here. Said former paladin laughed. "My lady dragon, you did not think that the traverses of time were limited to those of your flight did you?" Shocked, Chromie merely nodded. "Those who are blessed in the afterlife for their service to the light are not confined to the constraints of time. We may travel when and where we please, though I have watched you most closely, Liselitha." The statement that Uther had been watching her didn't surprise Liselitha, but merely prompted her next question. "So if I'm not dead, how is it I live?" At this Uther frowned. "Think back to the night you faced Arthas. What did he say to you?" Liselitha thought back, remembering Arthas kneeling by her and ripping the sunwell ring from her finger. "I will not allow you to die, I will not allow you to know peace. Neither will I turn you into another servant with conscientiousness, or have you walk among the dead who blindly serve me. I will leave you in more agonizing pain than any known or unknown torture could bring. I will allow you to live and to know that you have failed. That even those that you _love_ serve me blindly and unquestioningly." Uther nodded. "You remember he took your Sunwell ring as well. Think, why would he do such a thing?" Liselitha thought back, farther back than she thought she could. A distant memory, her lessons during primary regarding the nature of the arcane magics that made up the sunwell. What had the teacher said? The answer came to the front of her mind. _The sunwell is a potent arcane well that binds all of us together. We are all connected to the forest, the animals, and each other. This bond can be manipulated into a stronger bond, even tying one's life essence to another. If one dies, then so too does the other. Usually, such things require objects that are blessed by the sunwell and then carried by the two who wish to bond. However, there are powers of darkness that can force a bond between two individuals using only one object, but this often fails as the object will lose it's potency over time. _Liselitha's eyes widened and she felt sick to her stomach. "He forced a bond?" At Uther's nod, her stomach seized and she was forced to turn to empty her stomach. Chromie's eyes widened. "Why couldn't I see this? Why the dreams and the confusion?" Now it was Chromie's turn to be taken aback. "Because, my child, you had your own role to play in her life without the express knowledge of who she was." The dragon that stepped forward next to Uther, was none other than Nozdormu, her missing sire. "Liselitha is complicated piece of the puzzle. Much like when I sent Krasus, Broxigar, and Rhonin back to the War of the Ancients, she too has her role to play in the making of history." Liselitha stood and wiped her mouth. "With all due respect, my lord, but I do not wish this role." Nozdormu shook his head. "Most ever truly do, but there must be heroes who will challenge that which threatens our world. Will you truly step aside and allow the Lich King to succeed in his plans of total control and domination of the world?" Liselitha sighed and shook her head in the negative as Uther walked up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I never wanted to be a martyr or a hero either, but I did what I needed to because it was the right thing to do. Arthas took _your_ ring, Liselitha. Not because of chance, but because of that which you were destined to do. You were meant to have me as your teacher, meant to hate and then love Arthas, meant to be betrayed by him, and meant to be bonded to him." Liselitha shook her head. "I do not understand. But I trust you, Uther." Uther laughed at that. "If I had known I would be responsible for training the one student who would one day end up sacrificing everything I ever taught him for the power to destroy life as we know it, I would have run back to my mentor and begged to be let back into the priesthood." Liselitha smiled up at him. "But then, who would have trained me?" Uther nodded, still smiling. "Exactly, we don't know what path our choices may take us, but when we make those choices with the best of intent, they work out, somehow, in the end."

Liselitha nodded and looked to where the dragons had stepped away to give former teacher and student privacy, and to talk plainly to each other as well. The situation her predicament had landed her in settled on her again, though this time, it didn't feel as heavy. Uther placed a hand back on her shoulder. "Remember everything that I have told you here, Liselitha. You have the power to destroy the bond between you and Arthas, and you will know when the time is right." Liselitha nodded. "I will do this Uther, not just for myself, but for all those Arthas has betrayed. I will do what is right, I just pray that when this is over, we will finally have peace." Uther squeezed her shoulder then locked eyes with Nozdormu. "Time for you two to be on your way. For the light." Liselitha nodded. "For the Light."

Chromie returned to her true form and allowed Liselitha to mount. Taking one last look into the room, she noticed that her past self was awake. The path before the now Blood Knight would be hard and very painful, but Liselitha realized that she was now stronger than she had been before Arthas' betrayal and that she would survive the harrowing journey before her. And with those last thoughts, she felt Chromie lift off and the black cloak of time descended upon her.

Her heart beat echoed in her ears like a frantic drum. Pain, lots of pain. Shadowy figures danced around her vision, while their voices echoed, yet were indeterminable. A scream, was it hers? A cry...the wail of a babe...

**Author's note:** I believe that those whom have lived their lives dedicated in service to the Light would be given the freedoms to traverse time and space, much I like believe that those who truly believe that they will go to heaven when they die, will, somehow, in one way or another, will find their way there.


	8. A Leap of Faith

**Author's Note:** One of the problems I have with writing about fights that occur in World of Warcraft is how would the appear if you were fighting against something against that. I ran up against that problem with the fight against the twin val'kyr's. In fact, as a healer I'm not really good at describing much of what happens within the mechanics of the fight. But I can tell you what's going on around it. Hence why I don't focus on the actual fighting. If it bothers, you I'm sorry that i"m not more detailed about the blood and gore I'm just not into that thing.

Once again she woke to someone beneath her, with her dagger pressed to his throat. "You know, when you sleep you talk right?" Shaking the last vestiges of the nightmare away, she got a good glimpse of who had been stupid enough to wake her by touch. "Twinky!" The undead rogue grimaced at the shrieking Blood Elf. "If I had known that this is all it would take to get in your pants, or lack there of in this case, I would have done so much sooner." Liselitha balked, then smacked said rogue. "You bloody, perverted rogue! I'll bet you have a death wish." Twinky just laughed, honestly it had been a while since he had be able to get a reaction this good out of her. The thought of her one day carrying out one of her threats crossed his mind briefly, but was then pushed away with the following thought, _It was worth it._ Grabbing her hands, he skillfully flipped her over so that she was under him in a very compromising position. "The hell do you think you're doing, Twinky? Why the hell'd you...?" In fact, the question was more, when the hell did she arrive back on the tournament grounds? She remembered the conversation with Uther, but she couldn't remember the flight back. Strange...

The undead rogue began rubbing his hand up and down her side in a suggestive manner, bringing her thoughts back to reality. "Well in answer to your first question, I'm..." His hand paused at the side of her waist. "TICKLING YOU!" With one smooth move he had her pinned and began tickling her in earnest. Between bouts of laughter, squirming, and essentially trying to break the rogue's hold on her, Liselitha managed to finally gasp, "Ok. Stop. You win!" Twinky looked down at her with mischief twinkling in his undead eyes. "I win huh? What do I win? A kiss?" Blushing profusely, Liselitha finally managed to throw the rogue off of her. "As if. Why'd you wake me up Twinky?" The now dazed rogue looked up at her, "Hm? Oh yeah right, the next round in the tournament is going to start soon and no one could wake you." Cursing loudly, Liselitha jumped up and began dressing and pulling on her armor. She cursed even more foully when she realized that she had left her mace and shield in the tournament ring. Her muttering stopped as she surveyed her mace, shield, and An're sitting in the weapons rack. Walking closer, she found a note tied to her mace that held the tournament seal. She untied the note from her mace and broke the seal.

_Lady Sunweaver,_

_While I am impressed by your undiminished skills with a Polearm, I can not in good conscience allow you to participate in the final round of the tournament. You will be allowed to observe in the Horde side of the stands and I have decided to not disqualify you from the entire tournament. However, I will not tolerate a paladin, and especially one who is so tied to the good name of Uther, to step out of the bounds of the Armistice terms._

_Signed,_

_Tirion Fordring, Highlord of the Argent Crusade_

Liselitha sighed, she knew that he would probably do something like this, but she had been hoping that Fordring would allow her to participate in the final round. Attaching her mace to her side and swinging her shield onto her back, she left the tent to show the letter to Azidan.

To say that Azidan was not pleased was a severe understatement. Still fuming from the fight between herself and her now former group organizer, Liselitha made her way over to the stands to watch the fight. She was eyed warily by multiple members of both factions, some she knew others she didn't. Taking a seat near the middle of the horde section, Liselitha felt eyes upon her and looked up to meet Thrall's gaze. The Warchief was still unhappy with her for injuring Hellscream. She was about to break away from the intense glare, when Garrosh turned to look at her as well. Feeling the back of her neck bristle in agitation, she lifted her chin in defiance and returned the glare. The tension was about to get the better of her, when Tirion Fordring stood to address the crowd and the Champions.

"Only by working together will you overcome the final challenge. From the depths of Icecrown come two of the Scourge's most powerful lieutenants: fearsome val'kyr, winged harbingers of the Lich King!"

The doors on the opposite end of the arena opened as two val'kyr were allowed into the arena. Liselitha had only seen their like in the Storm Peaks. They were deadly and, worse, all those that they killed they could raise as servants of the Lich King. She shivered with an unexpected chill, and she looked over her shoulder. He was here. The val'kyr had called him when they were released into the arena. She barely heard the beginning of the match as the being that she would give her life to destroy stood at the back of the arena, looking relaxed with his helm off. Their eyes met and locked, and for the first time in years, she was thrown off balance by his intense stare. Then his thoughts swirled around in her head. _You think that you could destroy me, but you would be wrong. I told you that I intended to live forever, and that goal, so far, has remained unchanged. You can still join me, Liselitha._ She hardened her glare and turned back to the match. His laughter filled her head. _So much hate and desire to kill for one who has "remained in the light." I wonder how long you would truly last against me. Bolvar certainly has held onto his resolve. _Liselitha felt herself bristle in anger, as she turned back towards him. _My hatred and my anger lies with only one person, Arthas. And you shall meet the judgment of the light, whether by my blade or the Ashbringer, you will die. _He laughed once more, _We shall see Sunweaver, we shall see._ And with that he vanished, just as the match ended and the val'kyr cried, "THE SCOURGE CAN NOT BE STOPPED!"

Liselitha froze in place, he was up to something. He wouldn't just let two of his precious Val'kyr be taken without his notice. Tirion's booming voice echoed over the stadium, "A mighty blow has been dealt to the Lich King! You have proven yourselves able bodied champions of the Argent Crusade. Together we will strike at Icecrown Citadel and destroy what remains of the Scourge! There is no challenge that we cannot face united!" The chill swept through her again as Arthas appeared once more, this time in the center of the arena, in full battle gear. "You will have your challenge, Fordring." Liselitha moved to stand when Thrall's gaze caught her and he shook his had in the negative. She retook her seat watching the exchange with anticipation. "Arthas! You are hopelessly outnumbered! Lay down Frostmourne and I will grant you a just death ." Arthas, merely laughed at Fordring's terms of surrender. He was definitely up to something. "The Nerubians built an empire beneath the frozen wastes of Northrend. An empire that you so foolishly built your structures upon. MY EMPIRE." With the last statement, Arthas plunged Frostmourne into the floor of the arena. The ground crumbled and caved in, the champions with it. "The souls of your fallen champions will be mine, Fordring." Without so much as a by your leave, Liselitha jumped from her seat and leaped over the railing into the frozen depth below. As she jumped she could have sworn she heard her name on the wind, but that didn't matter now. Looking below her, she saw an underground lake and adjusted her body accordingly, if she was lucky, she'd only be knocked out. Bracing her body for the impact, she took a deep breath, that was quickly knocked from her as she hit the freezing water. She swam as she could, only to find herself consumed in darkness.

"You can't keep it." The sound was garbled, washed out. "I have no choice, it is my oath." was that her? "what are you going to do...?" What was she going to do? The voices garbled, she was confused, pain again, and again the baby was crying. Baby?


	9. The Descent into Darkness

"You are one lucky bitch, do you know that?" Liselitha opened her eyes to find Tristan standing over her with a healing totem. "I have yet to see one of these assholes jump into a hole they knew had to be a trap willingly." Tristan commented nodding over at the four Alliance members that had become a part of the team. Liselitha smiled up at him, "Anything for a shower I guess." He laughed at that, "Clearly. Can you sit up?" She moved to sit up, and found that her head and back hurt like hell. "Didn't want to remove your armor, could have been the only thing keeping your brains in." Liselitha nodded. "Where are we?" Tristan shook his head. "No clue, but get this, Anub'Arak is alive and well apparently. He has made no move against us, nor we against him. But there's something going on." Liselitha nodded. "Yeah, The Lich King signed us all up to be his newest set of DK recruits." Tristan hummed in agitation to that knowledge. "Well come on, you better go meet up with Azidan and the Alliance chick that's taken up charge of her contingent of challengers." Liselitha nodded, the sooner she got the confrontation done and over with, the better.

Azidan and a human mage were sitting together looking over strategies when Liselitha walked up to them. "So sleeping beauty decides to join us afterall." Azidan sneered. "I didn't have to jump down here to help your ass out, Azidan. But you know that I know more about what it is that Arthas may be plotting than anyone else here." Azidan glowered at her, but indicated for her to continue. "Anub'Arak, When I first arrived on this ice rock with Hellscream's contingent of Kor'kron, I helped in the assault against him." She pointed to the spheres of ice that were illuminated around that map that the mages had constructed. "Anub'Arak has a habit of digging underneath people and using his spikes. If we have our ranged pile up enough snow around where he is, we could get it thick enough that the spikes won't matter." Both mages nodded and began to jot down notes. "He also is a coward and will call in re-enforcements, they will need to be dealt with swiftly." The human mage looked up at her. "How many answer his call?" She thought. "It depends on how wounded he is. He also has a leeching plague about him, so people need to watch where they stand around him." Both mages nodded. "Anything else you can think of?" Liselitha tilted her head as she thought. Summoning up an image of that horrendous fight about a year ago, she made a couple of mental ticks. "Just make sure that Babylon keeps moving in front of him. He likes to use his weight and strength more than anything."

Azidan nodded and stood to go and address their half of the team. Liselitha followed him with her eyes, still deep in thought. "Do you think we have a chance?" Liselitha was startled from her thoughts and looked over at the mage who studied her in turn. "I think there is always a chance. Sometimes a good chance, sometimes a bad chance." Abruptly, an old lesson came to mind. "When you utilize all possible information, take into account the resources at your disposal, and build your strategy based upon those two factors, the chance of success greatly out ways the chance of failure." The mage nodded and broke into a smile. "Then I think it is a very good thing you jumped into this trap with us, Paladin. It is obvious that you have had experience on the front lines." Liselitha gave a hollow laugh at that. "I am only here because I was fully recovered from previous injuries and diplomatic relations within the Horde are much different than that of the Alliance." The mage looked at her confused. "Where the Alliance is more of a Republic, the Horde is a Confederation." The mage nodded in understanding. "Meaning that you don't involve yourselves with the internal affairs of the others you hold treaties to." Liselitha nodded. "It's both complicated and not." The mage nodded, but then a cold look entered her eyes. "Is that how the Wrathgate came to pass?" Liselitha sighed, then nodded sadly. "We are in a world that hates us, even our own brethren who chose to stay in Dalaran and the Alliance hate us. When you are surrounded by enemies, no one looks for the poisoned knife in the center." The hardened glare softened a bit as the mage stood. "While I may personally dislike the races of the Horde, this insight gives me a better understanding of where your people come from." She paused and then continued. "I don't know if we will live or die, but if we are ever to meet as enemies upon the battlefield, I will still consider you a friend and will stay the hand of any that may seek to do you harm." Liselitha nodded. "and I offer you the same." They reached out and clasped each other's wrist. "Let's go kill some spiders." Liselitha laughed at that, as they made their way to the rest of the group.

The blessings and the prayers were said, and all knew the fate of any that would fall this day: a service of eternity to the Lich King. Liselitha's hairs stood on end on the back of her neck, she could feel the power swirling around and through the re-risen king of Azjul-Nerub. They had made their peace and now was the time to strike. Babylon, throwing caution to the wind, ran forward first and cast a powerful holy judgment at the undead spider. Anub'arak yelled his own battle cry and they were met with the forces of the undead spider king. She felt sweat bead on her forehead as her concentration was divided between healing the inflicted wounds over and over again and using the holy light to cleanse off the bouts of plague that broke out around her.

As Anub'arak burrowed under the ground, she made her way on top of a pile of snow and ice. She felt him, he was watching her. For a half second she turned and she saw his shadow, smiling taunting her. A half second was all that was needed for Anub'arak to pierce her with one of his spikes through the melting snow. She bit back a cry of pain as the poisoned spike tore through her armor and into her chest. Using what was left of her concentration she took the dagger from her side and sliced through the exoskeleton and into the soft flesh of the spider, slicing off the tip of one of his legs. With a roar, the spider king reemerged, though a bit off balance. Pain exploded as she was unceremoniously dislodged from the wounded appendage and she struck the ground with a painful thud that she was sure broke several of her ribs. Blackness swirled around her as more pain than she could recall ever experiencing broke through. The last thing she saw before the darkness took her was of Arthas writhing in pain in the shadowy depths of his barricaded citadel as his dark bond healed her.

She was warm and the sun was bright on her face. She wasn't home in either Silvermoon or Capital City. She knew this bright green terrain. The Hinterlands. When was she assigned to the Hinterlands? Before Stratholme, before the fall of Quel'Thelas. Why was she here? An assessment of damages. A separate investigation of the causes of Plague just north of them. Agness. Agness the Dwarf Paladin. Agness who she put in charge of...her daughter. Her daughter? SADORA!

She bolted upright but then slammed back down onto the hard straw mat that she was lying on. "Shh, Liselitha, you're safe." Liselitha looked wildly around her, she was back in the Argent tournament Pavilion. Tirion bent over her concern etching his face. Tear streamed down her face as memory upon memory assaulted her. She had been pregnant, that was what she had been anxiously waiting to tell Arthas the night he met Jaina. After she returned home, she enrolled in the Quel'Thalas Royal Guard, a year to have the babe and figure out what to do with it. The baby, a baby girl with wavy blond hair and bright blue eyes with a hint of sea green. She would never know she was part human, would never know who her father truly was. She wrote to Uther explaining about the child and how her assignments within Silvermoon City would need to be coordinated with any assignments he had for her. Four years, Sadora was four years old when she had left for Stratholme. She hadn't seen Arthas since enrolling in the Royal Guard, though her partner, Agness made frequent trips to Capital City to report on behalf of both of them, while Liselitha traveled to Silvermoon to give her reports, often bringing Sadora back with her. But that changed with Stratholme. Uther summoned both her and Agness, Leaving Saodra at Quel'Danel Lodge with her sister Laur'ael. Stratholme where she had made the decision to watch and wait for Arthas' return from the north lands and when he did, she would be ready to take him into custody. She gave Agness instructions that Sadora was to remain hidden in the Hinterlands, hidden at Aerie Peak where the Wildhammer Dwarves were allies with the High Elves. A year and six months later, Arthas did return. And in those remaining six months, he became the very thing he sought to destroy. And then the fall of Quel'Thalas, the death of her sister, and then her curse. She had purged her memory of Sadora to protect the child. Twelve, her child was now Twelve years of age.

Liselitha looked up at Tirion, tears still freely flowing from her eyes. Tirion's brow furrowed in worry, the paladin was obviously close to going insane. "Liselitha, who is Sadora?" Liselitha pierced him with her gaze. "You must swear to me that not a breath of this shall leave your lips. I shall know if it does Tirion and I swear by the Holy light I will bring you down, bearer of Ashbringer or no." For the former student of Uther to make such a threat, Tirion knew that it must be of dire importance. He nodded his assent and felt the full burden of the oath that he had just sworn fall upon him. Sighing, Liselitha confessed, "Sadora is my daughter. She remains hidden in the Hinterlands with a Dwarf Paladin by the name of Agness. She was not there when Quel'Thalas fell, nor did she take the oath and taste the felblood. She remains Quel'Dorei." Tirion could not have been more shocked had she slapped him. His mind raced as it processed the information, he spoke the first question that came to his mind. "Who...?" Liselitha shook her head. "I dare not name her father. There is too much at stake. As it is, it is dangerous to have just had my memories of her unlocked." Fordring nodded in understanding. With the Argent Crusade being close to beginning their siege upon the citadel, Arthas would use every weakness that his opponents had against them. "I swear that no one alive or dead shall learn of your daughter, Liselitha Sunweaver." She nodded in appreciation. Tirion stood to leave. "You should rest some more. With the tournament at an end, there will be much to do and very little time in which to do it in." Liselitha nodded and layed upon her mat. And for once, she did not dream.

**Author's Note:**_ And so this draws us to the conclusion of the Argent Tournament, but not the Story. I will warn you that the story will shift focus however, and I hope you like the introduction of the new character as much as I've enjoyed writing her._


End file.
